Rise of a King
by HolyKnightsofTheRoundTable
Summary: After regaining the memories of his past life, Zeroth Bael began planning for the future. He didn't care what kind of butterflies his presence or actions caused so long as he came out on top in this new world he had found himself thrown in. [Bael OC-SI]
1. A New Beginning

Looking out the window of the Bael train at the purple sky, Zeroth found that it was still hard to believe that this universe was nothing more than a fictional one in his old life. It still was a lot for him to take in, being part of a universe where the supernatural existed, including devils, angels, and beings from various other mythological factions. And it had all been thanks to reincarnating Regulus as his servant that had caused him to remember everything from his past life.

He could not comprehend the how or the why of having apparently been granted a second life. Hell, he did not even know how his first life ended. The only things he knew for certain was that he was somehow in the High School DxD universe, and there was going to be the Khaos Brigade, Evil Dragons, Rizevim, 666, Hades, and the UL to deal with in the not-so-distant future.

Of course the future he knew could change as his presence here had already caused some changes in the original timeline. For one, he was quite certain that Zeroth Bael did not exist in the story he had known, who had completely replaced Sairaorg Bael as the only son of Lord Bael and Misla Bael. Not to mention that there was no Magdaran as Zeroth had inherited the Great King's Power of Destruction, with his father announcing him as the next Great King of Bael.

Then there was the reason for him being on the Bael train in the first place. The First Bael Zekram had decided to grant Kuoh Town to Zeroth to govern with Rias and Sona also coming with him to attend school there, informing him that the previous Devil, Cleria Belial had been killed due to having an affair with an Exorcist even though Zeroth knew the truth of the matter. But he now had an excuse to be involved with the main events of the story while building his own peerage from scratch in the human world and that was all that mattered to him.

Unlike Sairaorg who had built his peerage around Devils scorned by other Devils, Zeroth planned to recruit his members from future enemy factions and rivals with Sacred Gears, Longinus, and other beings who were not Devils. After all, that was the whole point of the Evil Piece system was it not? Luckily he was already in contact with one future servant thanks to his clan's contacts with Mephisto Pheles.

"Looks like things are about to get interesting for you, huh." The man Zeroth was scouting spoke via hologram from his magic circle. He was a young man around the same age as Zeroth, with short, spiky brown hair and light brown eyes behind a pair of glasses. He wore a red mage-styled robe that went down to his knees.

Zeroth smirked. "You're always welcome to join if you get bored of those magician's councils."

The young man pushed up his eyeglasses in response. "When I had accepted your offer to become your magician I never thought that you would also be trying to recruit me into your peerage."

That was because Zeroth would prefer to have the possessor of the Dimension Lost Longinus on his team than with the Hero faction.

"Your potential is being wasted by sticking with those geezers. And my offer still stands by the way. Just think of having all the resources and contacts of the Great King at your fingertips, free of charge."

"And in exchange I become one of your servants," the man sighed before frowning. "Though if I am being honest with you I have been considering it."

Zeroth raised an eyebrow, surprised. "And why is that?"

"I told you about those Wizards of Oz, right?"

Zeroth nodded his head, remembering about their involvement with Slash/Dog's timeline. While he would have loved to add Tobio to his peerage he was too young at the time and had not yet awakened his memories of his past life much to his disappointment.

"What did they do this time?"

"It's not what they did, it's what the council is not doing. The only one who has been doing anything about them is Mephisto, the Chairman of Grauzauberer. Though the most he has done is send out the possessor of the Longinus, Absolute Demise and made common cause with Grigori. At this rate you might be right and that I am wasting my talents with the council." Georg replied.

"Well, if you do decide to accept my offer you will know where to find me." Zeroth shrugged, hoping that Georg would accept his offer before Cao Cao scouted him out.

"Kuoh Town, right? If I show up there unannounced then you'll know that I have accepted your offer."

"Then let's hope that day comes soon."

"We'll see," Georg chuckled before he ended their communication line, leaving Zeroth alone to his thoughts once more.

"Dimension Lost, huh," Zeroth muttered, looking out the window. He already had in mind what piece he would use on Georg if he decided to accept his offer. In canon, Georg was the sub leader of the Hero faction and if Cao Cao trusted him enough to be his second in command than so could Zeroth.

And that was why the Queen would be the perfect piece for Georg. That and he had already used seven Pawn pieces on Regulus and had a different candidate in mind for his Bishop Mutation piece.

His peerage would be the strongest, no matter what. This world was now his sandbox and he didn't care what kind of butterflies his actions caused so long as he came out on top. If he happened to weaken his enemy's forces and rivals at the same time then so be it.

Zeroth sighed, closing his eyes to rest.

Planning could be such a pain sometimes and unlike Rias or Sona, Zeroth knew of the threats that were coming for them. He could begin to understand why Azazel had been gathering Sacred Gear and Longinus possessors under his organization before forming an alliance with the Devils and Angels. If he knew about the threats like Ophis and Rizevim, Zeroth would also do the same thing.

"No luck still."

Opening his eyes, Zeroth was greeted by another boy around his age, with silver-white hair and red eyes. Though he was now a Devil, he still wore his priest's coat from his days as an Exorcist, and hanging from his belt at his waist that formed a sword skirt were six swords. Five of the swords gave off demonic energy while the last one emitted nothing.

"It's only a matter of time now, Sieg." Zeroth pointed out, pleased with the progress he was making with Georg.

Siegfried smirked, sitting down in front of him. "And once he joins you plan on searching for that ancient weapon in the Dimensional Gap?"

"Yeah," Zeroth grinned, eager to add that golem to his peerage. Unlike Vali, Zeroth didn't need Ophis telling him about the ancient weapon's existence and this time it would be the Great King of Bael to obtain its power not Lucifer.

"Two Longinus, Demon Swords, and an ancient weapon. You really are going all out to form the strongest team." Siegfried chuckled. "And thanks to you I have a purpose now."

To become the strongest knight and to help Zeroth become the next Champion of the Rating Games. And in order to achieve the latter, Zeroth needed only the strongest members from other factions and rivals. He wouldn't have been able to achieve any of those goals if he had remained in the Underworld and been stuck with Sairaorg's original team.

He already had Regulus and the Demonic Emperor Sword on his team and it was only a matter of time before the Dimension Lost was his as well. But it would be some time before his team was complete as some of the members he had in mind wouldn't appear for some time.

Kuroka would be a difficult one to find as she was currently on the run and not much was known about her past other then that she eventually joined the Khaos Brigade and then the Vali Team. He could only hope that accepting multiple Stray Devil contracts would eventually lead him to her.

"We still have a long ways to go," Zeroth sighed.

"I know I've said it before but you really are strange for a Devil from the House of Bael." Siegfried pointed out.

Zeroth rolled his eyes. "So I have been told."

He could still remember the looks his fellow Devils had when it had been announced that he would be going to the human world along with Rias and Sona. No doubt he was one of the first Baels to have a desire to live in the human world instead of the Underworld. Even his father had been shocked and had tried to persuade him not to go but had relented when Zekram had granted his wish and appointed him as Cleria's successor. Only his mother seemed to approve and wished him well.

If only they all knew what was coming for them, but Zeroth wasn't doing this for them. He would prosper in this new world and if it meant saving it along the way than so be it.

"Oh yeah, before I forget, Kuisha wanted me to let you know that we will be reaching Kuoh Town soon." Siegfried remembered.

"And I take it that Regulus is with her."

"Yeah."

Though Kuisha would no longer be a member of his peerage that hadn't stopped his father from appointing her as his manager to observe and report back while he was in the human world. And if Georg didn't accept his offer than he always had a backup option for his Queen.

It was then that the announcement came out for their arrival.

[We will soon be arriving at Kuoh Town. We will soon be arriving at Kuoh Town.]

"Time to go." Zeroth stood up and stretched before getting ready to disembark.

"I never would have imagined that I would be returning to the human world as a Devil." Siegfried muttered.

"Nor leave as one," Zeroth added.

Siegfried smirked as they joined Kuisha and Regulus, who was in his human form at the exit point. "This brings back memories."

"Yeah."

* * *

It had been about seven years after Zeroth had regained his memories when he had run into Siegfried. He was fourteen at the time and was visiting Greece with his mother on one of the few trips he had been allowed to go to the human world. He was exploring some ancient ruins around the area when Siegfried had emerged from one of the ruins, battling a pack of stray werewolves.

Surprised by the demonic energy being emitted from the swords he wielded, Zeroth immediately jumped in to aid him, unleashing his power of destruction on the wolves.

"A Devil," Siegfried recognized, surprised by his intervention.

"Thought you could use a hand." Zeroth grinned, slamming his fist into the jaws of one of the wolves and disintegrating it with a burst of demonic energy.

"I don't need help from your kind," Siegfried snapped, cutting one of the beasts down with ease and sending a powerful shockwave towards another.

"Too late," Zeroth chuckled, finishing off the last one with a wave of demonic energy that engulfed it and turned it into nothing.

Once the battle was over, Zeroth took note of Siegfried's appearance as he sat down on a boulder, breathing heavily. His clothes were tattered and worn and looked like he had been out on his own for days.

"You're still here," Siegfried muttered, glancing at Zeroth as he leaned against the pillar of a ruin he was exploring.

"Yeah," Zeroth replied, gazing at the swords that were clipped to his belt. "Those are Demon Swords are they not?"

"You already know the answer to that," Siegfried replied.

"Just trying to make conversation," Zeroth shrugged.

Though he didn't show it, Zeroth was surprised and grinning like a madman when he realized that he was in the presence of one of the top two swordsmen of the Khaos Brigade. His abilities were nothing to scoff at as he remembered Siegfried being able to easily keep up with Kiba and Xenovia without breaking a sweat in the Light Novels and defeating them with ease.

And now an opportunity had presented itself to where Zeroth had a chance to claim the swordsman and his Demon Swords for himself instead of letting him become a terrorist and losing his swords to Kiba. There was no way that he was going to miss this moment and let him join the Hero faction.

He was the main protagonist of this story now, not Issei, Vali, or Cao Cao, but him, the next Great King of Bael.

"So, are we going to sit here in silence or fight? I'll have you know that I have places to be and people to fight." Siegfried said.

"I take it that you are no longer a member of the Church," Zeroth pointed out, noticing the lack of a cross around his neck.

"That's right," Siegfried shrugged.

"Why?" Zeroth wanted to know his reasons for leaving the Church before coming up with the perfect offer for Siegfried to get him to join his peerage.

Siegfried frowned. "Why do you want to know?"

Not how he had wanted to present his offer to Siegfried, but this could perhaps be his one and only chance and Zeroth could only hope that the offer he had in mind would be enough to entice him to join his peerage.

"Because I have an offer for you."

Siegfried raised an eyebrow, intrigued. "I'm listening."

Remembering how Siegfried had left the Church only to join the Khaos Brigade, Zeroth could only assume that it was because of his desire to fight stronger opponents, knowing that he had started a rivalry with Arthur Pendragon and was disappointed when he had left the Hero faction to join the Vali Team.

"My dream is to become the strongest and eventually the Champion of the Rating Games and in order to achieve that I need to have only the best at my side. And what better way to reach the top than to have the strongest swordsman. If you join me I can promise you that you will never be bored again and there will always be someone stronger out there for you to fight."

"The strongest swordsman, huh." Siegfried smirked, standing up, gripping the handle of a large double-edged sword. "And the strongest Devil. You have big ambitions, but let's see if you can back that up."

"What do you mean?"

Siegfried didn't even bother to respond and instead vanished within an instant and had it not been for the years of intense physical training Zeroth had gone through he would not have been dodge the attack as Siegfried appeared in front of him and slashed downwards, causing him to leap back while cloaking his body in the Power of Destruction.

"Not bad," Siegfried grinned.

Not wanting to give him another chance to attack, Zeroth responded by unleashing a torrent of demonic energy in his direction while swinging his fist at the same time, with the swing of his punch causing aftershocks that rippled across Siegfried's body, pushing him back.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Zeroth asked, readying himself for another attack.

This was not at all how he imagined recruiting Siegfried would be like and wondered if Cao Cao had to go through the same trial with him.

"Don't hold back. If I lose then I will join your team and cut down all who oppose you." Siegfried unsheathed another Demon Sword from his waist and unleashed a powerful gust of wind in Zeroth's direction, causing him to step to the side to avoid it. "And if I win then this will be where we part ways."

"So be it." Zeroth would make Siegfried regret telling him to go all out and swung his fist back, compressing a large amount of demonic energy into his fist before swinging it forward, causing the ground in front of him to shatter while surging towards his target. He then dashed forward, cloaking himself in the attack.

Siegfried responded by blocking the attack with his swords and his eyes widened in surprise when Zeroth emerged from the wave of demonic energy before smirking. "That won't work."

A silver arm emerged from his back, drawing another Demon Sword from his back to block the attack, but it turned out to be an after image with Zeroth appearing at his side, slamming his fist into Siegfried's ribs and sending him flying.

Had it not been for his foreknowledge of Siegfried's Sacred Gear, Zeroth doubted he would have reacted the way he had. He then made his way over to Siegfried, appearing before him as he tried to get back up.

Deciding to put an end to this fight, Zeroth raised both his hands into the air, imbuing them with demonic energy and joined them together before slamming them onto Siegfried, knocking him out as the area around them was destroyed by the discharge of his attack.

* * *

After that, Zeroth had healed his injuries and the rest was history when Siegfried joined his peerage as his knight. He had also gained Siegfried's respect when he had learned afterward that Zeroth was one of the few Devils who trained physically even with the demonic powers he had inherited from his clan.

They of course were surprised when Siegfried unveiled his wings, revealing a pair of silver wings instead of the normal black ones. It was then that Zeroth remembered that Siegfried was an artificial human, along with Freed and another he could not quite remember.

It was an hour after Siegfried had joined his peerage when they had returned to where Zeroth was staying with his mother, informing her of the newest member of his peerage. Shortly afterwards they had left for the Bael train to take them back to the Underworld with Siegfried by his side.

He smiled as he finished reminiscing. Siegfried was just the first of many changes he planned on causing throughout this timeline that was now his.

As they disembarked from the train, Zeroth was greeted by a familiar crimson-red head waiting for his arrival. "You're late!" she pouted.

"Sorry Rias, you know how my father is when it comes to living in the human world." Zeroth chuckled.

That man would only accept the best living arrangements for his son and had gone out of his way to prepare a home that was almost twice the size that Hyoudou's home was after it was renovated and built only a block away from Kuoh Academy, much to his annoyance. Even after slipping out of his grasp his father still managed to have some form of control over his life.

Of course none of that mattered to Zeroth anymore now that he had control over Kuoh Town and could proceed with building his peerage.

He then took notice of Rias' servants, with one of them missing who he knew was currently sealed away. "It's been a while, Akeno, Kiba, Koneko."

"Prince Zeroth." They bowed, causing Zeroth to sigh.

"How many times do I have to tell you guys that Zeroth is just fine? There's no need for formalities around me."

"Until you are no longer the next Great King of Bael," Siegfried chuckled. "You are royalty after all, Master."

That was true. Compared to the Gremory clan who had rose in power due to producing the current "Lucifer", Zeroth's clan were the true rulers of the Underworld. It was all because the ones who had supported the Devils of the Underworld after the death of the previous Maou was the House of the Great King, with the Maou becoming nothing more than symbols afterwards.

And the one who would inherit the title of Great King would be the one who has the power of destruction.

"Well, they'll have to start getting used to it once we start attending school." And though Zeroth loathed the thought of attending school again it was either the human school or the Devil school and Zeroth preferred living in the human world.

Rias smiled. "You could always form your own club once the school becomes co-ed than you'll have a title they can refer to you as."

"Too much hassle. I'll probably just join either yours or Sona's club instead."

Rias sighed, shaking her head. "Do you ever take anything other than training or your peerage seriously?"

"You forgot to add women in there, Rias."

"Don't remind me," Rias grumbled while Akeno giggled in amusement.

"I still remember the scolding Grayfia gave you when she caught you trying to bed one of the maids." Akeno added.

Zeroth flinched, remembering that particular moment. Grayfia's scolding was of course nothing in comparison to his mother's when she had found out. It wasn't his fault that he was a growing young man seeking the pleasures of sex and it was worse considering that this was his second life. He blamed the constant presence of beautiful women in his life who brought out his carnal desires.

"An experience that I can assure you will never happen again," he muttered.

Siegfried smirked and was about to say something but was stopped by a glare Zeroth sent his way. Don't even think about it, Zeroth silently warned.

He shrugged in response before glancing at Kiba. "How's your sword training coming along?"

Kiba smiled at his fellow knight and rival. "Quite well. It will only be matter of time now before I surpass you."

"I look forward to it." Siegfried grinned.

Zeroth smiled, remembering when Siegfried and Kiba had first met. At first, Kiba had been wary around Siegfried when he learned that he was once an Exorcist from the Church but that had all changed when he had learned that Siegfried was a product of the Church's attempts to create a true descendant of Sigurd who could wield Gram.

Like Siegfried, Kiba was also experimented on by the Church as part of the Holy Sword project and was the only survivor of that project, so he could relate to Siegfried's past.

They had soon bonded over a friendly spar with Siegfried easily defeating him and Kiba vowing to surpass him as a swordsman. Ever since then, Siegfried had looked forward to the day Kiba would surpass him while testing his skills against other swordsmen, waiting for a worthy challenge for his Demon Swords.

And this time they would be facing each other as friendly rivals, not enemies.

He then glanced over his shoulder at Kuisha, looking out of place amongst their group. "By the way this is Kuisha, my manager. She will also be joining us during our stay in the human world."

Realizing that she was just placed in the spotlight, Kuisha bowed when Rias and her servants turned their attention to her. "How do you do? I look forward to working alongside you all during our time here."

"My quite a beauty you have there," Akeno giggled, glancing at Zeroth with a knowing look. "Have you laid with her yet?"

"Akeno!" Rias scolded while Kuisha's face turned into the same color as her hair, with Kiba coughing uncomfortably and Koneko remaining silent throughout the conversation, eating one of her sweets.

Zeroth laughed at their reactions before responding. "Not yet."

Rias groaned in annoyance, glaring at him. "You're not helping here."

He shrugged in response. "Not my fault that Akeno knows me so well."

Even though the Bael and Gremory clans had a strained relationship with most of the Bael household being hostile towards the Gremory clan for their current generation having strongly inherited the power of destruction, Zeroth, along with his mother and Zekram Bael were the only ones who didn't have any grudge towards them.

As such it was no surprise that Zeroth had struck up a friendship with Rias and her servants, despite his father's attempts to get him to despise the Gremory household. That and because he was already well acquainted with their characters from reading the light novels.

So he was used to Akeno's personality by now along with the others.

"You'll get used to this," he heard Siegfried tell Kuisha who had lowered her head in embarassement.

"Oh and this is my pawn, Reg. He won't be attending school though." He added, deciding to keep Regulus a secret for now from Rias and the others until the time was right.

His human form was around the same as Koneko and Zeroth noticed her eying him with curiosity. Though he found the thought of a Longinus spirit attending school amusing, he didn't want to take the risk of him going berserk while he wasn't around.

"And why's that?" Rias asked.

"Reasons."

Knowing that he wouldn't say anymore, Rias sighed and turned around. "Well, we better get going. Sona will be waiting for us at the school and is no doubt wondering what is taking us so long."

"Wouldn't want to worry her now would we?" Zeroth chuckled as they made their way to the elevator.

"No, we wouldn't."

* * *

After stopping by the school and meeting up with Sona, Zeroth and his group made their way over to where the Bael residence was. To say that his father had outdone himself would be an understatement, as he stared at the small palace in front of him that had completely taken over the plot areas around it.

His father truly knew nothing about the human world. Luckily none of the normal humans seemed to take notice of the palace that had taken over the lands of their neighbors.

"This is a bit overkill," Siegfried voiced his thoughts.

"Yeah," Zeroth sighed, feeling exactly like how Hyoudou had felt when his home was renovated.

There was even a freaking gate surrounding the palace, covering it from all sides.

Not in the mood to deal with a Devil's logic, Zeroth made his way through the gates to the front door when it was swung open and he was greeted by a gray haired man, wearing a butler's suit.

"Welcome, Prince Zeroth. We have been expecting you."

Of course Kuisha wouldn't be the only Pure Devil his father would send with his son and heir to the human world. Leave it to his father to send additional guards who were Pure Devils to serve and protect him.

Rias and Sona were lucky they didn't have to deal with this kind of nonsense from their parents.

"How many others are here with you?" Zeroth asked, annoyed that his father believed that he needed additional security detail with him when Siegfried and Regulus were enough for now.

"Just three others: Beruka Furcas, Gandoma Balam, and Veves Furfur."

Well at least his father didn't send an entire platoon of guards so that was something at least.

"Whatever. Just try and stay out of my way while we are here. And there is no need for you to greet me at the door whenever I come home."

"Of course, my prince." Sectaas Barbatos bowed and Zeroth brushed past him, entering his new home.

Once he entered he couldn't help but groan at the entrance hall of the home, taking note of the staircases leading up to different floors and a pair of elevators as well that made it look more like a hotel than a home.

This was too much.

"How many people does your father expect you to house here?" Siegfried asked, checking out the blueprints they were given before leaving the Underworld.

"At this point I don't care anymore." He then turned around, facing his servants. "You are all dismissed."

Turning back around, Zeroth made his way over to the elevators and entered one, having it take him to the top floor. Once he arrived, Zeroth stepped into a room that was more like a penthouse, lavished with all kinds of luxuries he had never had in his past life.

He even had his own personal bar for crying out loud, filled with all kinds of liquor to choose from. He hadn't been much of a drinker in his past life so that didn't particularly interest him.

Continuing to explore his new living quarters, Zeroth even saw that he had his own balcony much like the one he had back home in the Underworld.

"I give up," he groaned, spotting his own personal kitchen that was connected to the living room.

Making his way over to his bedroom, Zeroth swung the door open, finding himself standing in front of humongous bed that had enough space for at least ten people with a canopy as well.

"Ugh, why did I even bother?" Dropping his bag at the door, Zeroth sat down at his desk that was at least normal compared to the rest of the room.

He should have known better than to leave his living arrangements to his father when he had told him that he had wanted a normal house in the human world. To a Devil, normal probably meant a palace in their minds.

Checking out the room one last time, Zeroth sighed before standing up. Might as well make the most of his new home while he was here.

He stopped when he caught sight of his reflection from the mirror. Staring back at him was a handsome young sixteen-year-old boy with haunting violet eyes, jet-black hair with broad shoulders, arms thick with muscle, and a muscular chest.

He didn't quite have the same muscular build that Sairaorg had due to having awakened his memories at the age of seven with his former self not having the desire to train as much as he did now. But he still had an impressive build nonetheless from the years of training that followed and his strength was further enhanced by his power of destruction.

Of course that didn't mean that he just planned to rely on his demonic power as he also planned to learn how to use Senjutsu to unlock his Touki now that he was in the human world.

Zeroth just hoped that it would be enough for the battles to come.

* * *

"This place is insane." Siegfried told Zeroth once he had settled down and decided to check on his peerage.

"Yeah."

He was currently checking out the blueprints of their new home, shaking his head in disbelief at the sheer size of it. It was a twelve-story house with the top floor being his penthouse as he had dubbed it and the floor below that being for his servants and future members of his peerage. The floor after that was for VIPs.

The floor below that was the barracks as Siegfried had called it, housing his guards and Kuisha. After that was the library/study/storeroom area, followed by the entertainment floor, with a home theater and fancy recliner chairs.

The sixth floor was the treasury area to hold any artifacts and valuables Zeroth and his peerage acquired from their contracts. The fifth floor had a ballroom for what purpose Zeroth had no idea nor did he want to know.

The fourth floor had its own gym, with training and changing rooms, and a large indoor bath. The third floor had a heated indoor swimming pool.

The second floor included guest rooms and the first floor included the kitchen, living room, and great hall.

There was only one basement floor Zeroth noticed that was entirely made for training.

"So much for having a normal house," Zeroth sighed, folding the blueprints up and tossing them aside.

Siegfried chuckled. "Like your father would ever have wanted you to live like a human."

"You're right. If I recall he called you lot monkeys once."

If only his father knew that his son and heir was once a human in his past life. He could almost picture his father's reaction if he ever found out.

"If your father had it his way I bet that your peerage would only consist of other High-Class Devils like the lot below us."

"Then it's a good thing that he's not in charge."

Zeroth already knew the kind of results that kind of team would get if he stuck with canon, which was why he was in the human world, poaching off rival teams in order to strengthen his own position, not caring what his actions would cause to the original timeline.

"So, what are we going to do now? Explore the house?" Siegfried wondered.

"Train. I plan to learn how to use Senjutsu to find one of our future teammates."

Siegfried sighed, shaking his head. "There's a reason the others call you a training maniac, you know."

"Don't care. The only thing that matters are the results and the only way to reach the top is to get stronger."

And the only way to do that was to train. Zeroth already had better control over his power of destruction than Rias when she was the one born with more talent due to his years of training. And his physical prowess was nothing to scoff at either even if it wasn't on the same level that Sairaorg's was. Once he added Senjutsu and Touki with his Regulus Nemea he would become a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.

"You should also keep up with your sword unless you want Kiba to surpass you." Zeroth added.

Siegfried smirked. "That guy has a long ways to go before he can catch up to me but you're right. Even at my current level I'm still nowhere close to the likes of Souji or Vasco Strada."

"All the more reason you should also train if you hope to become the strongest swordsman."

"And who exactly will I be training with? We left all the good swordsmen back in the Underworld."

"Beruka will do for now unless you also want to take on Regulus as a sparring partner." Zeroth grinned; remembering the last time Siegfried had tried his skills against the lion.

"And let that guy go berserk on me again? I'll pass."

"Just go and train with Beruka already. I'm going to go and find a secluded place to learn Senjutsu."

"Shouldn't be too hard in this place." Siegfried chuckled, making his way over to the elevator.

Shaking his head, Zeroth took the second elevator back to his penthouse and sat down, not at all looking forward to to the meditation process. But it was the most basic way of learning Senjutsu and acquiring Touki.

Besides, it wasn't like he was going to be able to release his _ki_ on his first try. As much as he hoped that would be the case. But no one ever said that reaching the top would be easy.

Taking a deep breath, Zeroth closed his eyes, pressing his clenched fists together, with his legs crossed.

"Here goes nothing."

* * *

**Better or worse than the previous version? Let me know what you guys think.**

**I did try and go for 10k words for this chapter, but figured that this would be enough for the first chapter. Future chapters will probably be around 5k as usual as that is what I am most comfortable with.**

**And here's the new and final peerage that I have in mind for Zeroth. I'm pretty sure you guys can guess who most of them are with the hints I've dropped. Half of the group are going to appear before DxD Canon starts, with the beginning arc being around probably four or five chapters.**

**Zeroth Bael's Peerage-**

**King: Zeroth Bael**

**Queen: Magician**

**Bishop: Black Cat**

**Bishop, Mutation Piece: Vampire**

**Knight: Siegfried [Artificial Human]**

**Knight: Holy Sword user**

**Rook: Golem**

**Rook: Valkyrie**

**Pawn x7: Regulus [Lion]**

**Pawn: Fallen Angel**

**I also decided to write in third person this time instead of first for the rewrite as I'm more comfortable with the former. **

**I will leave up the older version for those of you who want to go back and reread it for whatever reason, lol.**


	2. Maiden of Orléans

**Thanks for all of the positive feedback. It really got the muse inspired and pumped. So as a reward I decided to give you all a second update this week.**

* * *

A week had passed since Zeroth had settled in Kuoh Town, securing his position as the new governor of the area. The position wasn't as grand as he had expected it to be, with him mainly just overseeing the area, ensuring that Rias and Sona followed the rules, and keeping the contracts flowing. The latter fell to Rias and Sona as they currently had more servants than he did at the moment.

But that would all change soon and hopefully by the end of this year he would have most of his peerage completed before the start of canon.

He still had two years left anyways before canon started and so long as he continued to train and gather the servants he had in mind for his peerage he would be more than ready for the battles to come.

Not to mention that it would be Zeroth not Rias who would earn the achievements that she did not deserve in the first place. For most of her accomplishments she was credited for was due to Issei and his Boosted Gear. That and he would make certain that he would become well known for being the only Pure Devil own a Longinus. This was his story now after all not Rias' or Issei's.

Which was why he was currently in France, hunting down a lead from Siegfried about a holy battle maiden who had inherited the spirit of the maiden of Orléans, Joan of Arc. He already knew exactly who it was they were looking for and the thought of snatching up another member from the Hero faction before Cao Cao could get his hands on them excited him.

If he could convince Jeanne to join his peerage that would make two Hero descendants/Sacred Gear users who would be his and not members of the Khaos Brigade. More power for him and less for his enemies and rivals was what he was for aiming for after all.

"Anything?" Zeroth asked, activating his communication circle.

"Nothing. And unlike you it's difficult for me to search when I used to be a well-known Exorcist. I have to make certain that I am not noticed by the members of the Church." Siegfried replied, clearly annoyed by having to stick to the shadows.

"It can't be helped. Just try to avoid any conflict if possible."

"Easier said than done."

Cutting off the communication line, Zeroth continued his search for Jeanne. It was moments like these he wished that he had Senjutsu but he was still having trouble with releasing his _ki_. Activating his demonic energy was far easier than Senjutsu and Zeroth could now understand why so few Devils used Senjutsu.

That of course did not deter him as he was determined to add Senjutsu and Touki to his arsenal.

Zeroth sighed, shaking his head, focusing on the matter at hand. Who knew that searching for one person could be so difficult. He shuddered at the thought of what the search would be like for Kuroka.

But this was the path he had chosen and he knew that it would be anything but easy when he had decided to take it. The only thing he could hope for now was that Cao Cao had not formed the Hero faction yet and recruited Jeanne.

If that were the case then this trip would be all for nothing.

He suddenly stopped when he sensed that he was being watched. A Devil or Exorcist, Zeroth wondered, scanning the streets for his observer. Not wanting to start a scene in the middle of a street packed with humans, Zeroth made his way to an empty alleyway before throwing up some barriers then waited for whoever was watching him to come to him.

Come and show yourself.

He then relaxed his stance when he realized who it was. "Kuisha, what are you doing here?"

"I could be asking you the same thing, Prince Zeroth." Emerging from the shadows was his manager and current guard for today.

"How many times do I need to tell you guys that I don't need any guards?"

"These are orders from your father. You should realize the importance of your position as the next Great King of Bael."

"And I'll tell you what I told my father. I can take care of myself." He snapped, annoyed by Kuisha and the other Devils assigned to him. He knew that it was not their fault and they were just following orders but they could at least learn to give him some space.

Kuisha sighed, clearly used to his behavior by now. "In any case, you should at least let us know the next time you decide to Kuoh Town for whatever this is."

Then how did you even manage to find me, Zeroth thought to himself.

"Whatever, just try and stay out of my way while I search for the next member of my peerage."

"So that's why you are here," Kuisha muttered, narrowing her eyes. "And who exactly are you looking for?"

"Hopefully you will find out soon."

Their conversation was suddenly cut short when they sensed a spike of demonic energy nearby.

He immediately opened his communication line. "Siegfried!"

"That wasn't me!"

Dispelling the barriers around them, Zeroth turned to face Kuisha. "You can follow me if you like."

Not waiting for a response, Zeroth immediately turned around and rushed off to the source of the demonic energy. He didn't know what he was expecting to find but maybe he would get lucky and find who he was looking for.

Leaping onto a rooftop, Zeroth made his way over to where the battle was happening and stopped from his position to observe who was fighting.

To his surprise the Devils who were fighting weren't Strays at all, at least from what he could tell. They wore cloaks that hid their identities but even then he could tell right away that they were apart of someone else's peerage.

His attention was then drawn to who they were fighting against and his eyes widened in surprise when he saw who it was.

There was no doubt in his mind that he had found who he was looking for when he saw her long blonde hair, and sky blue eyes, elegantly dodging the attacks coming her way while striking back with her rapier.

Not wanting to waste another second, Zeroth leaped into the fray, sending a torrent of demonic energy toward the other Devils, forcing them to break off their attack.

"An intruder?"

"Who are you?"

They ceased their attacks when Zeroth landed in between them and Jeanne, turning their attention toward him. From the sounds of their voice and appearance he instantly knew they were female, confirming his suspicions of whose peerage they belonged to. Given Jeanne's background and looks, it didn't take him long to realize who was their master.

"Run now while you have the chance, otherwise," Zeroth narrowed his eyes, exuding a large amount of demonic energy from his body, "I won't hold back."

"Tch."

Realizing they stood no chance against him they immediately turned tail and ran away. Once they were gone, Zeroth dispersed his demonic energy before turning around. He was not at all surprised to see that Jeanne had not yet let her guard down when he faced her.

He smirked. "There's no need for that. I'm not here to fight."

"Forgive me for not trusting you. How do I not know that this is a trap?"

Because I am not Diodora Astaroth, Zeroth wanted to reply, but instead said, "If this were a trap we would not be speaking."

Jeanne narrowed her eyes. "You are a Devil. For all I know you could be lying right now."

This one would be difficult to recruit, but Zeroth was determined and he would not let the likes of Diodora or Cao Cao have her. He was grateful that Kuisha had decided to keep her distance and let him handle this otherwise he would probably be having an even more difficult time convincing her to join him.

Zeroth sighed, shaking his head. "Look, just believe me when I say that I am no threat to you or this city. I was just passing through when I sensed the demonic energy spike and decided to check it out. I never expected that I would run into an Exorcist."

"I am not a Exorcist," Jeanne told him in a bitter tone, finally relaxing her stance. "To the Church I am nothing more than a symbol."

A symbol, huh. He could sort of understand where she was coming from considering he had to put up with his position as the next Great King of Bael ever since he was born and regained his memories.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really. I don't even know why I told you that in the first place."

"My name is Zeroth Bael, the next Great King of Bael." He introduced, causing Jeanne to look up at him in surprise, eyes widening in realization. "So believe me when I tell you that I know how it feels to be a symbol."

He had to deal with it ever since it had been discovered that he had inherited the Power of Destruction and been announced the next Great King of Bael. Not to mention putting up with his father constantly comparing him to his cousins who had been born with more talent than him. He could not help but wonder what kind of man he would have turned out to be had Regulus not awakened the memories of his past life.

But he had learned to deal with it in the end and become a better man than Lord Bael could ever hope to be. He would show the world how a true Bael should be like when it was his time to shine.

Just like how Vali had when he had become the White Dragon Emperor of the Morning Star.

"So, what now?" Jeanne asked, clearly not knowing how to deal with this kind of situation.

As much as he would have loved to offer her a spot in his peerage, with his greed and selfishness as a Devil urging him to do so, Zeroth decided to take it slowly and pulled out a pamphlet.

"Here," he handed it to her.

"This is?" Jeanne wondered, reluctantly accepting it from him.

"If you ever feel like talking to someone just use that to call me and I'll be there."

"You are a strange Devil."

Zeroth chuckled as he began walking away from her. "I know."

He then leaped away from her and landed on one of the rooftops Kuisha was standing on. "Enjoy the show?"

Kuisha frowned when he smiled at her. "That was reckless, even for you. What were you thinking when you decided to have a chat with a Exorcist?"

"She isn't a Exorcist," Zeroth corrected her. He then looked over his shoulder when he sensed Siegfried land behind him. "Looks like your lead paid off."

"So, are you recruiting her or what?" Siegfried asked.

"We'll see. It all depends on her."

And if he knew Diodora at all it wouldn't be long before he found a way to get Jeanne expelled from the Church. Let Diodora do all the dirty work for him and Jeanne would soon be his if he played his cards right.

"What about those Devils she was fighting? They weren't Strays," Siegfried wondered.

"Forget about them. Let's head back home."

Glancing back at the direction he had come from, Zeroth smirked before teleporting back to Kuoh Town.

* * *

"Balance Break." With his aura increasing, three additional silver-scaled arms grew out from Siegfried's back, drawing out his three remaining swords from his belt. In this stance Siegfried truly looked like Asura himself, wielding a sword in each arm. "Chaos Edge Asura Ravage."

Not for the first time Zeroth was pleased with his decision to make Siegfried his knight due to him already having his Balance Breaker during his time with the Church. He could only hope that the same would be true for Jeanne whenever she decided to contact him. With Georg still as his magician he knew that Cao Cao had yet to form the Hero faction so Jeanne was still up for grabs.

It had only been a few days since his meeting with Jeanne so he didn't need to worry. Though he couldn't help but wonder what Diodora was up to.

"Where are you looking?"

He immediately ducked to avoid the swing of a punch before rolling to the side, evading Siegfried's attack, then leaped back as a sphere of demonic energy crashed into the spot he had rolled to.

If there was one good thing that came out of the additional guards his father had sent with him to the human world then it would be that he could continue his normal training routine. As he glanced at Sectaas, Gandoma, and Siegfried, waiting for one of them to strike.

Though he had never gone through the rigorous training Sairaorg had, Zeroth had taken a different approach, preferring to train against three or four fighters to better prepare himself for actual battle.

Unlike Issei, he wasn't going to rely on convenient power ups to win the day.

"Babylon."

Taking a page from Gilgamesh's book, Zeroth created multiple portals surrounding his opponents then unleashed a fury of demonic spheres, controlling them at will, directing them towards his targets.

Watching them evade his attacks, Zeroth decided to pick them off one at a time, choosing Gandoma as his first target. While he avoided a sphere of destruction to the face, Zeroth appeared in front of Gandoma, surprising him, and cocked his fist back, swinging it forward, slamming it directly into his stomach, and sending him flying.

The aftershock of his punch alone was enough to throw Siegfried and Sectaas off their balance while the blow continued past Gandoma's body, crashing into the wall behind him. Gandoma collapsed, completely knocked out from the blow he had received.

They were lucky that the barriers around the training ground were enhanced otherwise he was certain the blast of that punch would have continued through the wall.

"That punch of yours is still as impressive as ever." Siegfried grinned, lunging at him with Sectaas attacking from the other side.

"You should know by now that a pincer move won't work on me."

Throwing his hands out to the side, Zeroth threw up a wall of demonic energy on both sides, forcing Siegfried and Sectaas to halt their attacks. He then appeared in front of Sectaas and knocked him out with a single blow once the barriers had dispersed.

"You guys weren't even a challenge," Zeroth sighed, disappointed that he couldn't go all out on them.

"You just wanted to have an excuse to knock out your guards," Siegfried chuckled, sheathing his swords and dispersing his Sacred Gear.

"You weren't even trying."

"Because you weren't even in to it today. I know that you're still thinking about her."

"What can I say? She's wasted on the likes of the Church," Zeroth shrugged.

"That's what you tell Georg as well, if I recall."

"Because it's the truth."

He knew just how strong they would become from his foreknowledge of the Light Novels and he would help them become even stronger by serving him then remaining as humans, working for Cao Cao as terrorists. Sairaorg's peerage had held him back from truly becoming the strongest and Zeroth would make certain that would not happen to him by gathering those who could grow stronger together with him.

"So has she contacted you yet?" Siegfried asked as they entered the elevator.

"Not yet, but it's only a matter of time."

"How can you be so sure?"

"I just am." Because if someone like Cao Cao could convince her to join him than so could he.

Siegfried sighed, shaking his head. "I can never understand you sometimes, but if there's one thing for certain that I do know about you is that you are serious about becoming the strongest. And that's the only reason I need to stick by your side."

"And there will be no shortage of foes once we make our debut."

And they would all be ready for the battles to come. Zeroth would make certain of that.

The elevator stopped and Siegfried stepped out. "This is where I take my leave. Going to take another shot at Senjutsu, I presume?"

"Not yet. My mother wanted to talk to me about something first."

"Wonder what that could be about."

"Who knows," Zeroth shrugged and leaned against the wall as the elevator door shut, taking him up to his penthouse.

Once he had arrived, Zeroth activated the communication line as soon as he had entered his room. It took a few seconds before his mother answered, with her figure appearing over the magic circle.

"Mother," Zeroth smiled. "You wanted to speak to me?"

"I did. I have news for you that I am certain you would want to hear."

"News?" Zeroth frowned, wondering what it could be.

"Your father has finally found you a suitable match that would benefit the clan."

Took him long enough. Whenever a decision had to be made, his father would rush over to the place where the previous and first generation had secluded themselves and then ask for their advice. Regardless of whether it was a political or family affair, his father had never made a single decision on his own.

He wasn't at all surprised though that his father had finally found him a match considering that Rias's betrothal to Riser Phenex was only recently announced. Knowing his father he was probably trying to compete with the Gremory family and one up them.

His dislike to the Gremory Clan due to their current generation inheriting the power of destruction was well known.

"Who is it?" He asked, curious as to who his father had chosen for his bride.

"Ravel Phenex."

"I see."

Looks like he was right after all about his father.

His mother raised an eyebrow. "You don't seem very surprised."

"Why should I be? It was only a matter of time before a match was made for me anyways."

And unlike Rias, Zeroth understood the importance of Pure Devil marriages. Besides, he was fine with the match considering that it was with Ravel Phenex. He wondered if he could get Ravel to acquire her own set of Evil Pieces that way he could expand his power even more. She was a High-Class Devil after all and even her mother was a King, which meant that she could also have her own set of servants.

His mother giggled. "Not at all how I was expecting you to react to the news."

"To be honest I was expecting the news a lot sooner with father going on about the importance of purebloods and all that."

Those were one of the first lessons he had been taught when he had been announced as the next Great King of Bael. Blood status and demonic powers were the only things that the clan truly cared about from their family members after all.

Zeroth and his mother were lucky that he had inherited the power of destruction otherwise he knew the fate that would have awaited them had he not.

That was why he had vowed that when he came to power that none of his future children who did not inherit the power of destruction would endure the same kind of abuse Sairaorg had gone through. The Great King faction would change when he succeeded his father.

His mother sighed. "Your father is a very busy man and he is still upset about you deciding to stay in the human world."

"So this match is his way of getting back at me for leaving the Underworld?"

"Not at all. Your father had come up with the match after your cousin's engagement to Riser Phenex was announced."

He rolled his eyes. "Of course he did."

"He expects you to meet with your betrothed during the next gathering. I trust that you will be attending?"

"I'll be there."

Even if he hated attending the gatherings because Zeroth knew what the true purpose was for them. It was nothing more than a show for the future heads to meet one another with the current heads seeking out potential marriage candidates for their heirs.

But if it was a chance to get Ravel to become a member of his harem and steal her from Issei then he would put up with it.

His mother smiled. "At least now I don't have to worry about you rebelling against your betrothal like Rias and Sona."

"I'm not that immature."

Sona had already broken off her engagement by beating her fiancé in a game of chess, declaring that she would not marry someone who was not smarter than her while Rias was against her match to Riser from the moment it was announced, much to his father's delight.

He was perhaps the only one who got lucky with his betrothal considering that he already knew what kind of a woman Ravel would turn out to be.

"Of course not. Though your father will no doubt be pleased that you have accepted the match he has chosen for you."

"Well hopefully that will appease him for now and get him to call off the guards assigned to me. He does realize that I can take care of myself, right?"

He was not called the strongest Devil of his generation for nothing after all.

"I know, but your father was adamant about sending guards with you and it was the compromise the first Bael had made so that you could go to the human world." His mother replied.

"Fine," Zeroth sighed, realizing that his father had won this time. "But when I return let him know that I will be bringing up the matter with him."

Did his father truly have so little faith in his abilities and peerage?

"Of course. And don't forget to contact every now and then. The castle hasn't been the same with you gone."

"I will," he promised before ending the call and leaned back on the couch in his living room.

A compromise with the first Bael, huh. This was Zeroth's first time hearing about it. Well, just like with everything else since he had awakened his memories he would learn how to deal with his guards for now.

Still, he was annoyed that he was the only one who had to deal with additional security in the human world. Rias and Sona, who were the sisters of the Maou Lucifer and Leviathan at least got to stay in the human world with just their peerage.

There was nothing he could do about it now though but put with it until he returned to the Underworld even if he didn't agree with his father's decision.

Clearing his head, Zeroth decided to get back to his Senjutsu training. Without a master to learn from it was taking a lot longer to unlock than he hoped but all this pointless meditating would be worth it in the end when he obtained Touki.

Just as he was about to take a breath and close his eyes though he sensed someone calling him from one of his pamphlets.

His eyes snapped open and smirked, hoping it was who he was hoping for and that he would soon obtain his next servant.

Standing up, Zeroth stretched before heading over to his magic circle.

Time to see who was summoning him.

* * *

Finally.

Zeroth held back a grin when the lights disappeared and he found himself facing his next peerage member and the second descendant he would be snatching away from Cao Cao's Hero Faction and main team member.

"I never thought that I would be summoned by a member of the Church." He decided to start the conversation, taking a look around at their surroundings.

"I'm not a member of the Church," Jeanne muttered, looking away from him. "Not anymore."

He frowned when he realized that they were inside an abandoned church, probably on the outskirts of France. He then turned his attention back to Jeanne, his future second Knight.

"What happened?"

"Someone from the Church apparently saw me talking with you, a Devil, instead of fighting you, and so they decided to banish me. Friendship with a Devil is not tolerated after all, even for someone who has inherited the spirit of the Maiden of Orléans." Jeanne replied, with a bitter tone.

Probably Diodora's doing, but Zeroth kept that bit of information to himself. Diodora probably had hoped that he had given up on Jeanne after he had left and decided to make his move on her by getting the Church to banish her, not counting on the fact that she would summon him.

Their loss though was his gain and Zeroth was not going to let this opportunity slip through his fingers. Even as a human Jeanne managed to best Irina, who had recently been reincarnated as an Angel, and her Balance Breaker was nothing to scoff at either. He could definitely use that kind of potential on his peerage.

"I'm sorry. I had no intention of getting you banished when I decided to rescue you from those Devils."

"At least now I don't have to deal with the burden of carrying her spirit," Jeanne smiled, surprising Zeroth.

"Was that what you meant by being a symbol?"

"Yes, but that doesn't matter anymore since I can finally choose my own path." She then faced him with a determined look. "And I have decided to serve you if you will have me."

His eyes widened in surprise by her declaration. "Why?" He couldn't help but ask. This was not at all how he expected recruiting Jeanne to his peerage would go and wanted to know her reason for wanting to join him.

It couldn't be that easy getting her to join him could it?

Jeanne giggled, amused by his reaction. "Because in a way I can relate to you and you were the only one who understood my position. And don't seem so surprised; I know you were hoping to recruit me when you gave me that pamphlet."

"That's true, but I didn't expect it to be that easy."

And it was the truth. Zeroth thought it would take a lot more to convince Jeanne to join him and there was no way that he was going to try Diodora's way of convincing her.

Still, if it meant one less enemy to worry about in the future then he wasn't going to complain about it. Jeanne would be his now and he would make better use of her than Cao Cao would.

"So, how does the process for becoming your servant work?" Jeanne asked.

He pulled out his Knight piece and showed it her, not at all surprised to see it glowing in response to her presence. This happened with Siegfried as well and now he was more than certain that Jeanne would be perfect for his peerage.

"Are you certain about this?" He asked one more time, wanting to make sure that Jeanne knew what she was signing up for.

"Of course! This is the path that I have chosen and I have no regrets!"

"Then welcome to the team, Jeanne."

If she had already made up her mind about joining him then he wasn't going to stop her from joining. It wasn't at all how he had expected her to join him but in the end she would become a member of his peerage and that was all that mattered to him.

Jeanne accepted the glowing evil piece without any hesitation from him. Then at moment, a violet glow lit up the room, and devil wings appeared from her back, completing the process.

Two main members from the Hero faction down. One more to go.

* * *

"So you to, huh."

"So it would seem," Zeroth shrugged, taking one of Rias's pawns with his knight.

It was currently the weekend and Zeroth was hanging out with Rias at the Occult Research Club building playing chess to pass the time. Only a few days had passed since Jeanne had become his knight and Zeroth decided to let her settle down and train with Siegfried while he broke the news to Rias about his engagement to Ravel Phenex.

Kuisha and Akeno were standing to the side, observing them as they played and talked as fellow Kings.

Rias gave him a bitter smile as she scanned the board. "Well, at least you got the better match than me. Ravel at least seems to be more tolerable than Riser."

"She's not that bad once you get to know her."

It was only because Ravel was from the same clan that Riser was from that caused Rias to hold some disdain towards those related to him. She truly did not like Riser but that wasn't his problem and she would soon be out of her engagement anyways once Hyoudou joined her peerage.

Rias sighed, taking one of his bishops with her queen. "Looks like both our parents are pushing for our engagements then."

"The next Great King of Bael must be pure and have the power of destruction," Zeroth chuckled, repeating a saying his father would often tell him. "At least I'll be able to enjoy other women when I am married to her."

"Of course you would find a silver lining in all this," Rias rolled her eyes.

"Maybe you'll be able to break off your engagement like how Sona did," Zeroth pointed out. "Besides, you still have plenty of time until the date is set for your wedding."

"Compared to Sona's fiancé, Riser will be difficult to break off since my father and his are best friends and have been pushing for a union between our clans."

"You'll figure something out." Zeroth took Rias's last bishop with his queen. "Checkmate."

Rias looked at the board and pouted at him when she realized that she had been played. "You were distracting me."

"Guilty," Zeroth chuckled, standing up. "You should stop worrying about Riser for now. There's nothing you can do about it until you can deal with him."

"Thank you, Zeroth. I'll keep that in mind." Rias smiled.

"Now then, might as well check and see how my new knight is doing."

"Another one from the Church?" Rias wondered.

"Yeah, she was banished because she was caught talking to me instead of trying to kill me. Their loss though was my gain," Zeroth replied, grinning.

"She must be quite the warrior and beauty if she caught your attention."

"She is. Well, until the next time, Rias."

He then bid his farewell to Rias and Akeno and left the Occult Research Club building with Kuisha trailing behind him. As they made their way back home, Zeroth noticed that Kuisha was still upset with him.

"Don't tell me that you're still upset about me going to see Jeanne on my own," he chuckled.

"It could have been a trap. She did know who you were after all and could have told the Church," Kuisha pointed out.

"You worry too much."

"That's because it's my job along with the others who you push to the side."

"Not like I need it." His peerage alone would be enough once they reached their full potential and Zeroth could take care of himself.

They then continued the rest of the way back home in silence for which Zeroth was grateful for. He had no desire to argue with Kuisha anymore about his guards or who he chose to recruit to his peerage.

Zeroth would show them all when he made his debut that his peerage was the strongest.

Once they arrived back home, Zeroth parted ways with Kuisha and made his way down to the training area where he knew Siegfried and Jeanne would be. He was not disappointed when he arrived to see them engaged in a duel with the field littered with holy swords that were no doubt created by Jeanne's Sacred Gear.

Siegfried had all six of his swords drawn out, engaging Jeanne's holy dragon while evading her own attacks she sent his way with her holy swords.

Just like with Siegfried, Zeroth had gotten lucky with Jeanne having already unlocked her Balance Breaker during her time with the Church. He was also pleased to see both his knights making full use of their speed as they engaged one another.

He spotted Regulus observing from the sidelines and knew that he would have to train with him later in their Balance Breaker form.

"That's enough!" He called out, causing Siegfried and Jeanne to halt their next attack and turn to face him as he made his way over to them.

"Zero," Jeanne called out with a cheerful smile, much to his annoyance.

If there was one thing that made him regret recruiting Jeanne to his peerage it was her habit of coming up with nicknames for everyone. Unfortunately for Zeroth, Jeanne had decided that Zero would be a perfect nickname for him.

"How was your match with your cousin?" Siegfried asked, sheathing his swords while Jeanne dispersed all the holy swords in the room.

"Boring, but it helped past the time so I can't complain."

"Does that mean that we will be meeting the others soon?" Jeanne asked, excited to meet her fellow Devils.

"Yeah." Though Zeroth couldn't help but wonder how Kiba would react to Jeanne since her Sacred Gear could produce holy swords.

Maybe Kiba would also be able to bond with Jeanne since she was also used by the Church like Siegfried.

"They're not that interesting." Siegfried told Jeanne. The only ones who interested him were Kiba and Tsubaki as they were fellow swordsmen like him.

"Though I'm certain that she will be able to come up with a nickname for all of them," Zeroth added.

He could already imagine Rias's reaction when Jeanne decided to call her Ria like her brother and father did when she was younger. Though he was not at all looking forward to the teasing he would be getting for his nickname.

"There's no need for you to get jealous," Jeanne said.

"We're not."

"You're no fun," she pouted.

"So, planning on joining us for some training?" Siegfried asked, eager to test his steel against his fists again. "Or are you still going for Senjutsu?"

"Not this time." Zeroth shook his head, pointing over in Regulus' direction. "I need to keep up my training with my Longinus."

"Longinus?" Jeanne repeated, glancing over at Regulus.

Right, he forgot that he hadn't told Jeanne yet about Regulus. Just like with Sairaorg, the only ones who knew about Regulus being a Longinus were the other members of his clan and his peerage. And Zeroth meant to keep it that way until his match with Rias where he would show the entire Underworld his full power.

Before he could tell her though the elevator doors pinged and Kuisha entered followed by someone Zeroth was surprised to see.

Siegfried grinned when he saw them. "Looks like we just got another member, master."

Zeroth held back his own emotions when he saw who was approaching them, even though on the inside he was grinning like a maniac.

"Prince Zeroth, your magician is here to see you." Kuisha bowed, stepping to the side and letting the newcomer step forward.

"Is that offer still up on the table?"

* * *

**Bet most of you thought the second knight was going to be Xenovia. Not this time, lol. **

**Also, what do you guys think about Ravel having her own peerage alongside Zeroth's? I already have in mind who her Queen will be if I decide to go through with it.**

**Hint: It's not Kuisha.**


	3. Devil Gathering

**Phew, this one ended up being a lot longer then expected. But it sets up a lot for the next couple of chapters, so yeah, took a while for me to get this finished.**

* * *

"The Dimensional Gap?"

After the surprised arrival of Georg, Zeroth had immediately reincarnated him to his peerage as his Queen after he had informed him of his desire to join him. From the moment Zeroth had made a pact with Georg as his magician and began trying to recruit him to his peerage, he knew that Georg would be perfect for the position.

And once Georg was properly introduced to the other members of his peerage, Zeroth got right down to business on the next phase of his peerage.

"That's right. According to my sources one of the ancient weapons left behind by the ancient gods is active in the Dimensional Gap." And by sources, he meant Ophis and his foreknowledge, but they didn't need to know that.

"And I take it you plan on turning this weapon into a member of the peerage?" Georg asked.

"Correct."

Siegfried grinned. "Makes me wonder what kind of power this weapon possesses."

"Is fighting strong opponents all you think about, Sieg?" Jeanne asked.

"Of course. That is until I find a worthy opponent for my demon swords."

Georg chuckled, pushing up his glasses. "Now I see why you were so persistent in recruiting me. You need my Longinus to travel through the Dimensional Gap."

"That and because your skills are exceptional," Zeroth added.

"Of course."

"So, when will we be going to the Dimensional Gap?" Jeanne asked, eager for an adventure.

"Soon, but I promised Rias and Sona that I would introduce you to them and I guess now Georg as well." Zeroth replied.

"And I take it that you also want me to keep my Longinus a secret?" Georg asked, looking over at Regulus who was silent throughout the conversation.

"Yeah."

With one more Longinus added to his peerage, Zeroth knew that it would be even more difficult to keep them a secret in the near future, but for now he hoped to keep their abilities hidden until his match with Rias where he would show the entire Underworld the full power of his peerage.

He wasn't worried about Kokabiel, Loki, or the Hero faction that much since he was working on a different form that didn't rely on Regulus Nemea.

Not to mention that he now had three of the main members of the Hero faction as part of his peerage now, drastically decreasing the strength of Cao Cao's group.

He might not have the strongest group in the Underworld yet but he would definitely have the most dangerous group when his peerage was complete.

"Understood. By the way, on my way here I heard rumors of a boy being capable of controlling shadows. Thought you should know."

"Interesting."

Shadows? Zeroth tried to remember who from canon possessed that kind of ability until he remembered that it was a member of the Hero faction. He didn't remember their name but knew that they had absolute loyalty to Cao Cao and wondered if he could instill that loyalty to him if he recruited him to his peerage.

He was certain that at his current level his last pawn would be enough for this Sacred Gear user because of the unused feature.

Zeroth grinned at the thought of Cao Cao losing another future member of the Hero faction. It wasn't his fault that Cao Cao was too slow with starting up his group and wondered if he was still training.

Whatever the case, he had found a suitable candidate for his last pawn and would take advantage of Cao Cao's training trip or whatever he was up to.

"Looks like our numbers will be growing soon," Siegfried said.

"Good work, Georgie."

"It's Georg."

"Welcome to the club," Zeroth sighed when he realized that Jeanne had come up with a nickname for Georg. He was not looking forward to introducing Jeanne to the others.

"It certainly is an interesting group."

"By the way, how is your progress with your Longinus?"

Siegfried and Jeanne had their Balance Breakers from their time with the Church and Zeroth wondered if it was the same with Georg. It would make sense as to why they were so skilled with their Sacred Gears when they fought Hyoudou and his group at Kyoto.

"I already have my Balance Breaker if that's what you are wondering about though not at the level where I can transfer an entire country to the Dimensional Gap."

"What about a castle?"

"A castle?" Georg raised an eyebrow at the question.

"Not to transfer to the Dimensional Gap but to replicate along with its inhabitants."

"It's certainly doable, but why?"

"Because the ancient weapon in the Dimensional Gap wasn't the only reason why I recruited you."

"Well you certainly weren't lying about things being interesting for this group."

If he managed to snatch the Holy Grail right from underneath the noses of the vampires then he would be knocking out two birds with one stone. And with Georg it might just be possible without starting a war with the Tepes faction.

Unless the current king was already overthrown and replaced then he could try and form an alliance with him in exchange for his daughter.

Zeroth frowned. Politics weren't his strong suit and he didn't want his attempt to retrieve the perfect healer for his peerage to backfire on him and the Great King faction, but if it meant obtaining another Longinus user for himself then he would find a way.

Maybe he could contact Seekvaira and see if her family had any information on the current status of the Tepes faction.

"Well its about time that we started adding new blood to the group," Siegfried said.

"Has this group always been this small?" Jeanne asked.

"It's just been me and Regulus until you two for two years and I was starting to worry that our group would never expand."

"Waiting for the right candidate takes time and it will all be worth it in the end," Zeroth said.

"What about your cousin then?"

"Her servants were handed to her on a silver platter."

And they were mostly broken with their own problems to deal with until Hyoudou came along. It wasn't until after they overcame their pasts that they became stronger.

But Zeroth's peerage would be strong from the start and only continue to grow until they were the strongest. The strongest Devil needed the strongest peerage after all.

"Well I can't wait to meet them!" Jeanne smiled.

"Just try and not to mention anything about holy swords to Rias's knight," Zeroth told her.

"Why?"

"Because he hates anything related to holy swords and Excalibur for what happened to him in the past."

"He opened up to me though because we were both experimented on by the Church so maybe you can also find a way to connect with him." Siegfried added.

"I see," Jeanne muttered.

"So his reason for living is revenge then," Georg noted.

"Something like that."

But he was Rias's problem, not his.

"Now then, time to introduce you guys to the others."

And then he could begin recruiting the other candidates he had in mind for his peerage.

* * *

"You've been busy," Sona noted, observing Zeroth's gathered servants while hers and Rias' stood to the side.

"Of course. Can't let you two get a complete peerage before me after all," Zeroth declared, pleased that he could finally move on to the next stage of his peerage.

"I take it your Queen is your Magician you have been talking about," Rias added.

"A top-class Magician and descendant of Johann Georg Faust."

He didn't mind if they knew their identities so long as their Longinus were kept secret for now.

"And former member of the Magician Council," Georg added.

"Strong," he heard Koneko mutter.

"And this is my second knight, Jeanne," Zeroth introduced.

"How do you do?" Jeanne smiled, waving at them. "I look forward to working with all of you."

"She inherited the spirit of the Maiden of Orléans, Joan of Arc."

"Three hero descendants and one unknown," Sona eyed Regulus, trying to figure his secret out. "You certainly like to keep your secrets hidden."

"You can thank the Great King faction for that."

It was thanks to the influence of the Great King faction as the true leaders of the Underworld that Zeroth was able to keep information about his servants a secret from others outside of his clan. The only way those outside could know about his servants' abilities was through a leak or if he told them, which wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

"And of course you won't give us any hints," Rias sighed, shaking her head.

"You all will just have to wait to see their true power when we make our debut."

"And I can respect that. So long as they do not cause any trouble for the school I am fine with them." Sona said. "By the way, have you decided on whether you are going to start your own club or not to use as your base of operations while at school?"

"Unless you still plan on joining one of our clubs," Rias added.

Zeroth frowned, pondering his decision on the matter. He knew it was only a matter of time before it was brought up and as a Devil attending school in the human world he needed an excuse to get out of school activities or lessons in case of an emergency with the supernatural. Even though Zeroth would have preferred to just join one of their established clubs he was a fellow King and would be putting himself in a subordinate position if he did when he was of higher rank than them.

And as the next Great King of Bael, Zeroth knew that would not be proper of him to put himself in that kind of position. No matter how much he wanted to just laze about with his school life.

He could already imagine how his father would react if he learned that he had decided to join Sona's or Rias' clubs. He could always just let his servants do all the mundane work anyways.

"How about the Disciplinary Committee?"

They did have those, right? Zeroth would admit that he did not have a full knowledge of how Japanese schools worked but from some of the shows he watched in his previous life there were mentions of a disciplinary committee along with the Student Council.

Zeroth just hoped that would be the case here.

"That could work," Sona said, casting away any doubts he had about its existence. "Once the school becomes co-ed I'm certain that we will need one."

Especially when the Perverted Trio made their mark on the school. Zeroth was not looking forward to dealing with them.

"And here I was hoping that you would join my club," Rias pouted.

"Not this time, Rias."

"Well then, with that matter out of the way we can introduce our servants to yours," Rias announced.

Akeno stepped forward, introducing herself first to his group. "How do you do? My name is Akeno Himejima, Rias's Queen."

"Nice to meet you!" Jeanne cheerfully responded while Georg simply nodded to her.

"I am Yuuto Kiba, Knight."

"Koneko Toujou, Rook."

"And I am Tsubaki Shinra, Queen."

After the introductions were all out of the way they then began to mingle with Zeroth speaking with his new Queen for a bit.

"So, normal human school life, huh." Georg said.

"It was either that or the prestigious school in the Underworld." Which Zeroth had no desire of attending. At least in the human world he didn't have to put too much effort with his school learning as he had already gone through it once before.

"Do the others know about your plan to go to the Dimensional Gap?"

"No and I intend to keep it that way."

Zeroth knew that the ancient weapon he intended to recruit to his peerage would be too big to keep a secret if he kept it in the human world, which was why he intended to leave it in the Underworld and make a pact with it to summon it whenever he needed it like how Le Fay did it.

"Well, so long as you have a plan with keeping all of our abilities a secret then I will follow your lead. Still, I never thought that I would be attending a normal school with my background."

"It will take some time getting used to but I am sure that you will manage," Zeroth assured him.

"And we will be part of this Disciplinary Committee."

"It was either that or join one of their clubs."

"Well as our king and leader you made the right decision."

"Should be an interesting experience though," Siegfried interrupted their conversation, joining them.

"Well, I can assure you both that we will be going at our own pace compared to Rias and Sona."

He didn't intend to take his position too seriously like Sona and Rias as he planned on just enjoying and relaxing in the human world.

"Fine by me. Maybe I can test the skills of the kendo club I have been hearing about."

Zeroth chuckled. "Don't expect a challenge." He doubted any of them would last very long against Siegfried.

Though he couldn't help but wonder if this time around with Siegfried as his Knight and his new desire with becoming the strongest swordsman if Arthur Pendragon would view him as a worthy rival for his Holy King Sword than Kiba. It was too early to think about that but Zeroth knew that Siegfried was longing for a worthy challenge for his Demon Swords.

And Zeroth would find someone worthy for him so long as it kept the Demon Swords in his peerage and away from Rias'. The fame and glory would belong to his peerage this time.

He then spotted Jeanne and decided to make his way over to her, leaving Georg and Siegfried to themselves.

"Enjoying yourself?" He asked when he reached her, noticing that she had been speaking with Tsubaki before moving away from the crowd.

"Yeah. I didn't expect things to be so lively as a Devil," Jeanne replied, looking at him.

"Only with some Devils." Though Zeroth could be considered unique for a Bael, as he did not have the immense pride or arrogance that most of his family members had.

Probably because of his past life as a human and his desire to not become like his father.

Jeanne smiled. "Like I said before. You are a strange Devil, especially for one from the House of Bael."

"It's just the way I am."

"Will we be meeting the rest of your family soon?"

"During the summer. My father managed to arrange a match for me and I am expected to meet with my betrothed when I return to the Underworld."

"What's your father like?"

"Not like me."

"Makes me wonder what your father will think of your peerage."

"His opinions don't matter to me."

"I take it that you two aren't very close?" Jeanne asked.

"He hasn't really been that much of a father figure in my life as he has only truly cared about the clan's position in the Underworld."

The only time his father had ever shown any pride with his son was when he had inherited the clan's Power of Destruction and when he had become the only Pure Devil to possess a Longinus Sacred Gear.

Of course, Zeroth didn't really have much love for his father anyways when his memories had resurfaced and he remembered what kind of a person his father truly was. Ever since then, Zeroth had vowed that he would show the Underworld what a true Great King of Bael should be like.

"I see," Jeanne muttered.

"Don't worry about him. He won't pay any attention to you or the others so long as you don't cause a scene."

"So he'll be looking down on us."

"That's how most High-Class Devils are."

"But not you," Jeanne smiled.

"Not me."

He then left Jeanne after that and joined Rias and Sona while their servants conversed with one another.

"It would seem that it was a good call to get them all acquainted with one another," Zeroth pointed out.

"Compared to our servants, yours are relatively new and need to get used to the others if we are all going to be with one another for the next couple of years." Sona said.

"How's the process going with making the school co-ed by the way?"

"It will all be done by the start of the next school year."

"If I didn't know you any better I would say that you were eager to begin school," Rias smiled.

He rolled his eyes. "That will never happen."

One lifetime of school was enough for him and this time around he was just going to take it easy and only worry about his new Devil life.

"I'm still surprised that you decided to form your own club," Rias added.

"So am I, but then I remembered how my father would react if I decided to join one of your clubs and decided that it would be best to just form my own."

"I didn't know that you cared about what your father thought of you," Sona said.

"I don't, but I also don't want to deal with his nagging."

"I knew you would say that," Rias shook her head.

"Now then, I believe that it is time for me and my peerage to head out."

"For training?" Both Rias and Sona asked.

Zeroth sighed, "You two know me so well."

"Of course," Rias giggled. "You are our resident training maniac after all."

He shook his head then headed off to gather his servants before taking their leave.

* * *

"More training," Jeanne complained, pouting at him as they made their way back home.

"This is the norm for us. You'll get used to it," Siegfried said.

"And all three of us will be fighting against you," Georg added. "I take it that this kind of training is for all of us to grow stronger together?"

"Yeah. I won't have a peerage that is not at the same level of power as me."

They would all grow stronger together until they reached the top. Zeroth would not let any of them slack off for he wanted them to be at a level where Rias' peerage wouldn't even be able to touch them when they had their Rating Game.

It would be a complete one-sided fight and Zeroth would make sure of it.

"No Balance Breaker?" Siegfried asked, glancing over at Regulus.

"Not this time. I plan on trying something different."

Like Akeno's Fallen Angel Mode, Zeroth was working on a similar mode by condensing his Power of Destruction to enhance his abilities and he wanted to test it out. And once he attained Touki, his physical and demonic abilities would be enhanced to the point where he could fight without the need to rely on Regulus for future battles.

Especially for when Rizevim made his appearance.

"Ho, that sounds interesting," Georg said, with an intrigued tone.

"Does that mean we can't use our Balance Breakers for this training?" Jeanne wondered.

"Of course not. I want you all to come at me at full power. It's the only way that we will all be able to grow."

Siegfried smirked. "Don't complain if you get defeated."

"Like that will happen."

Even without Touki and Regulus Nemea, Zeroth was certain that he could take them all on at his current level with just his Power of Destruction and fists alone.

"Such confidence," Jeanne giggled.

"Makes me wonder just how strong you can be if you are serious," Georg added.

"You will just have to wait to find out."

"You should try and fight him when he is in his Balance Breaker," Siegfried said. "He's a monster in that form."

"Though nowhere close to the level of Sirzechs," Zeroth pointed out.

Georg raised an eyebrow. "The Maou Lucifer?"

"Yeah. I aim to surpass him and become the strongest Devil with the strongest peerage."

But that dream was far away and Zeroth needed to get even stronger if he hoped to achieve it. And along the way he could enjoy the wealth and power of his clan along with the women from his harem.

This was the kind of life he was looking for compared to the mundane life he had in the past.

And he would obtain it all.

"Just how strong is he? I've always wondered," Jeanne asked.

"He could wipe the floor with us in a second without breaking a sweat," Zeroth replied. As much as he hated to admit it, he was still not at the level where he compete with the likes of a Super Devil.

"Even his peerage is no joke either," Siegfried added, having experience with sparring with Sirzechs' Knight in the past.

"This world sure is vast," Georg muttered.

"And we're aiming to surpass those guys," Jeanne groaned. "I can already foresee all the training we will be going through."

"You'll live," Zeroth chuckled. "Besides, it's the only way to get stronger."

"And we'll need to be at the top of our game when we make our debut," Siegfried added.

"Well, at least we will actually be doing something with our abilities," Georg smiled, looking forward to finally being able to use his full potential.

"And we will be doing it together," Zeroth promised.

They then arrived back at the Bael residence and he was not at all surprised to see Kuisha greet them when they entered.

"Welcome back, my prince. The barriers around the training field have been enhanced for your training session. Will it just be you and your peerage for today?"

"Just us and good work, Kuisha. I'll let you know when we're done with training." He knew that he had been a bit harsh with her and his guards lately and realized that he was starting to act like his father in a way, someone he vowed he would never become. "In the meantime you can relax and take the day off."

Kuisha seemed taken aback by his response before nodding. "Of course, my prince. If there is nothing else?"

"You are free to go." He waved her off and headed to the elevator with his peerage, with Siegfried sending him a curious look.

"What was that about?" Siegfried asked.

Just making some amends.

"Is he usually not nice to her or something?" Jeanne wondered as they stepped inside the elevator.

"Not usually."

Zeroth sighed, pressing the button to the training floor. "Just drop it. Kuisha is my problem to deal with, not yours."

He just hoped that it was not too late to fix his relationship with her.

* * *

"Don't hold back." Zeroth stood, facing off against Siegfried and Jeanne with Georg in the rear. No doubt to defend them and assault him from afar.

"Let's see if you can handle yourself against all of us without your Balance Breaker." Siegfried grinned, drawing out his swords, with his third silver arm emerging from his back drawing out another one.

"Time to see this new form you have been talking about," Georg added, pushing up his glasses.

"We won't lose," Jeanne smiled, drawing out her rapier.

Zeroth smirked, ready to test out this new form he had been working on. If he hoped to be able to fight against the likes of Kokabiel and Loki without revealing Regulus Nemea, he needed to rely on his own powers.

The answer he had reached while searching for an alternate form was by condensing his Power of Destruction blood, just like how Akeno did with her Holy Lightning blood. He knew the power would be nowhere close to the likes of Sirzechs' true form but it would be enough for now until his Rating Game with Rias.

Releasing all of his demonic energy at once he could feel it surging around him, enveloping his body in a deep, jet-black aura. He then began to condense the energy into his body, feeling his demonic power rising.

The entire area began to shake including the ceiling from the waves of demonic power being emitted from his body.

"T-This is," Georg gasped, shocked by the amount of power surging from his body.

Siegfried chuckled. "Now this is going to be fun."

"So this is the power of destruction," Jeanne muttered.

"Great King Bael Mode," Zeroth informed them, releasing a wave of demonic energy past them that obliterated the field beside them while distorting the barriers in the room. It only enhanced his Power of Destruction abilities but once he obtained Touki and combined them, his physical abilities would also be drastically increased.

With this kind of power he would be able to reach Ultimate-Class in no time.

"Now then, let's begin."

He then leaped forward, not giving them a chance to prepare themselves, blurring in front of Siegfried and Jeanne, swiping at them with a wave of demonic energy.

"I won't let you!" Georg tried to retaliate by throwing out a blanket of purple mist but was surprised to see his demonic energy devour the mist, rupturing the air around them, causing Jeanne and Siegfried to dash away from the attack. "No way! His demonic power surpassed my mist."

"There is always a limit to what you can block," Zeroth appeared in front of him, preparing to attack, but was forced back as Georg countered him with a range of spells from Fallen Angel, White, and Fairy Magic.

"Don't forget about us!" Siegfried flew towards him, with all six swords drawn, swinging them at him in full force.

Zeroth countered by throwing up a wall of demonic energy in between them before evading a rain of holy swords that fell down on him from the sky.

"Let's see how you can deal with my dragon!" Jeanne cried out, with her dragon letting a roar loose, sending a surge of holy swords at him from the ground.

Zeroth smashed them all by engulfing his entire right forearm in demonic energy and punching the ground, sending a wave of demonic energy in the direction of her dragon.

Jeanne blocked the incoming attack towards her and her dragon with a wall of holy swords but was pushed back by the aftermath of the collision.

"What power," Jeanne grunted.

"Tch," Siegfried cursed, slashing the wall of demonic energy in front of him away before lunging once more at Zeroth. "Dáinsleif."

Zeroth jumped back as a huge pillar of ice shot out from the ground from where he once was, countering with a burst of demonic energy from his fist, causing Siegfried to leap out of the way with the attack leaving behind a crater in its wake.

Skidding to a halt, Zeroth threw up a dome of demonic energy when he sensed an attack, surprised to see it being a combo of a wide range of spells and holy swords. It's about time they started working together, Zeroth grinned.

"Jeanne," Siegfried called out, launching himself at Zeroth, spinning his swords in front of him.

"This better work. Go, my dragon!" Jeanne commanded, sending her dragon forth to aid her fellow knight.

"Don't give him a chance to counter!" Georg fired off multiple spells that flew over Siegfried and Jeanne's dragon, heading straight for Zeroth.

"Babylon."

Snapping his fingers, Zeroth produced multiple magic circles around him that launched a storm of demonic spheres at his opponents. He was surprised by the sheer number and power he was able to produce in this form, watching as they easily smashed through Georg's spells before ramming into Jeanne's dragon, hammering it until it crashed into the ground.

It would seem that when in this form even his basic attacks he had come up with were greatly increased.

But none of that seemed to deter Siegfried as he emerged from the dust, slashing his swords out at Zeroth. "Take this!"

Zeroth countered by slashing his arm out as if he were holding a sword, sending a wave of demonic energy that sent Siegfried flying.

"Siegfried!" Jeanne called out.

"Even that wasn't enough to stop him," Georg grunted. "Not to mention that he was able to best us without using his Balance Breaker."

"Of course. He is the one who will become the strongest Devil after all," Siegfried chuckled, emerging from the rubble with smoke coming from his clothes.

"What's wrong? Is that all the power you have that you can throw at me? At this rate you will never be able to reach my level," Zeroth taunted them.

He knew they could become even stronger than this as they were able to best most of the members of Rias' peerage in their first battle when they were just humans. If they could do that as a human then he could only imagine how much of a threat they would be as a Devil when at the level they were when they faced off at Kyoto.

"Don't count us out just yet," Siegfried grunted, making his way forward until he stood beside Jeanne, swords drawn and ready.

"We still have some fight left within us," Jeanne added, pointing her rapier at him while her dragon stood back up, letting a roar loose.

"Good, I would expect nothing less from you all," Zeroth said, readying himself for one last fight. "Don't disappoint me."

It was time to end this.

"Let's go!" Siegfried charged forward along with Jeanne this time while her dragon took to the air, raining down a fury of holy swords at Zeroth from above.

Zeroth jumped away to avoid them but was surprised when he sensed multiple magic circles appearing behind him, firing a range of spells at him while a pink mist swirled around him.

"This will hold you down," Georg declared. "Now!"

Siegfried and Jeanne appeared on both his sides while Jeanne's dragon swooped down at him from above, poised to strike.

Zeroth smirked. "Impressive." But not enough to stop him.

Gathering a large amount of demonic energy around him, Zeroth fired it from all around his body, surrounding him as it shot up into the ceiling, crashing into Jeanne's dragon and completely disintegrating it.

"My dragon," Jeanne cried out and her eyes widened when Zeroth blurred in front of her, knocking her out with a single blow before turning his attention to Siegfried.

One down.

"Dáinsleif! Balmung!" Siegfried released a powerful gust of wind at him while a pillar of ice shot out from the ground, trying to pierce him.

Zeroth evaded both attacks then appeared right in front of Siegfried and rammed his fist into his stomach, knocking him out.

Two down.

"We didn't stand a chance," Georg realized and braced himself when Zeroth blurred right in front of him, taking him out with a single hit.

Three down.

* * *

"You definitely do not know how to hold your punch back," Georg groaned, still feeling the affects of his punch from their training.

"You should try fighting him with his Balance Breaker," Siegfried muttered, sitting down and leaning against a wall.

"I don't even want to know," Jeanne muttered.

"You guys will get used to this kind of training soon enough," Zeroth chuckled. He could still remember the first couple of weeks during his training when he had struggled and wondered how Sairaorg was able to keep up with it until he persevered through it. Not to mention that he was also training his demonic powers on top of his physical abilities.

He figured that was probably why he had not unlocked Touki yet as while Sairaorg was able to completely focus on his physical training, Zeroth was focused on two different things at once.

That just meant that he needed to focus on his Senjutsu now to attain even further power for himself.

"But that's enough training for now. I just wanted to see where you two stood so that I could make adjustments to your individual training."

"Now I understand why you are called a training maniac," Georg chuckled.

"This was not what I signed up for," Jeanne pouted.

"Anyways, I decided on who we will be going for first for our next comrade. Georg, where was the boy you heard about located?"

"Somewhere around Ireland, I think."

"Then that's where we will be heading."

The ancient weapon could wait for now because Zeroth knew that he had plenty of time to acquire it before Vali and his team did. In the mean time he could gather the others he was hoping to add to his peerage.

"What about this castle you want me to replicate? I take it that we will be going there afterwards?" Georg wondered.

"It's in Romania. The Tepes castle of the Vampires."

There was no point in keeping it hidden from them since they would all be going there together anyways.

"Vampires! You can't be serious," Siegfried's eyes widened.

"Those guys will be a difficult bunch to deal with," Jeanne added. "Not even the Church has been able to find where they are located."

"You guys can thank Rias' servant for providing the location."

Though it had taken some coaxing on his part, Gasper had eventually opened up to him and revealed to him where the Tepes castle was located when he had asked. He wondered how Gasper would react when he returned from Romania with his childhood friend.

Well, he wasn't doing it for his sake as this was all for obtaining the perfect healer for his peerage. And then he would have three Longinus on his team. He could only imagine how the rest of the Underworld would react when his peerage revealed their true abilities to them.

Georg frowned. "I don't recall seeing any vampires when we were meeting with the others."

"That's because Rias had to seal him up when they moved to Japan." And because Rias couldn't control his powers, leaving her with no choice but to keep him locked away from the outside world. "And he's a Dhamphir, half-breed."

"So then why the interest with invading their castle?" Jeanne wondered.

"Because there is another Dhamphir like him there and I believe that she has a powerful Sacred Gear."

He didn't mention that it was the Sephiroth Graal, the Holy Grail, since they'd be suspicious of him guessing what it was, as Rias knew that Hyoudou had a Sacred Gear, but not a Longinus-tier so he decided to leave that bit of information out, with him assuming that it was just a natural ability for all Devils in general.

Siegfried chuckled. "Of course it would be for that reason."

"How do you plan on dealing with the aftermath? I doubt these Vampires will be pleased with having one of their own taken from them," Georg said.

"I plan on seeking some outside help for that."

Hopefully Marius would have already staged a coup against the 4th King of Tepes, and if he did not then Zeroth would just roll with it. Snatching the Holy Grail away from him would prevent the awakening of Trihexa while also gaining the perfect healer for his team. He didn't really care about the consequences afterwards and if all went according to plan then the vampires would never know who had taken Valerie from them.

And if Rizevim decided to come after him then he would be ready for him.

"The Agares Clan?" Siegfried wondered.

"Yeah. I'm certain that Seek will be willing to help me out with this."

They weren't that close like Rias was but Zeroth considered her to be a friend and knew that she also saw him as one as well whenever he saw her with Rias. He knew that so long as it was just information gathering on the current status of the Tepes faction then Seek would be willing to lend him a hand for she still owed him a favor for getting her that limited edition Gunpla.

"Seek?" Jeanne tilted her head in confusion.

"The next heiress of the Agares Clan, Seekvaira Agares. Unlike Rias, Sona, and me, she decided to remain in the Underworld."

"Well, so long as you have a plan then I will follow your lead," Georg shrugged his shoulders. "I just never expected that we would be heading into vampire territory when I decided to join you."

"With your Longinus it will be a walk in the park snatching her away from them," Zeroth pointed out.

"That means more sneaking around, doesn't it?" Siegfried groaned, hoping to fight some vampires.

"We're not going there to start a war with them," Zeroth sighed, shaking his head. "It will be just a simple and quick infiltration."

If Georg could transport Hyoudou and his group to a different dimension resembling Kyoto with his Longinus then he was certain that he could handle one castle full of sleeping vampires. Not to mention he was also able to trap Yasaka and her guards before their arrival. With that knowledge in mind he wasn't all that worried about Georg not being able to handle the task given to him.

"Still, it's been a while since I've had a serious fight."

"It can't be helped. When we return I'll fight you with my Balance Breaker."

He was not at all used to dealing with battle maniacs and wondered how Cao Cao was able to deal with their likes in his Hero Faction. But Siegfried was his responsibility now and if it meant dueling him once in a while then he would do just that if it meant keeping the Demon Swords in his possession away from the Hero Faction and Rias' peerage.

Siegfried grinned. "I look forward to it."

"You just got beaten up by him without his Balance Breaker with us and you think that you will be able to handle him with it," Georg muttered.

"You need to tone your obsession down, Sieg," Jeanne added.

"That will never happen. For as long as I have known Siegfried the only thing he is searching for besides being the strongest swordsman is finding a worthy opponent for his Demon Swords."

Despite his frequent sparring with Kiba and Tsubaki, Siegfried was never satisfied with their duels. Even after losing to Souji Okita once did not deter him from his path as he continued to hone in his skills, longing for a true battle. Zeroth knew that he was also looking forward to their debut and once the Khaos Brigade made their appearance there would be plenty of enemies for him to fight.

But for now Zeroth would just need to keep him busy with training and going all out on him once and awhile until then.

"And being with the strongest Devil will draw powerful foes to us," Siegfried added.

"Not to mention our Longinus will as well," Georg noted.

"Indeed."

Even though it was just the Boosted Gear and Divine Dividing that mainly drew strong foes to them, Zeroth had no doubt that would also be the case for other Longinus users. And with three Longinus in their group Zeroth was certain that they would be attracting a lot of attention whether he wanted it or not.

"You all should get some rest. We'll be heading for Ireland in the morning."

"And hopefully we will be gaining a new comrade," Jeanne smiled, looking forward to gaining a new friend.

"He better be worth it," Siegfried grunted.

Zeroth chuckled before taking his leave, hoping that Seek would have some good news for him about the Tepes faction.

* * *

"The Tepes Faction?"

Zeroth nodded his head, twirling his only Bishop Mutation Piece in his hand, eyes locked with the holographic figure of Seekvaira Agares, hoping that she would be able to gather some good information about their current status. Whatever the situation was with them though would not deter him from seeking the Holy Grail out, as it would just be an inconvenience for him.

"I just want to know who the current leader of their faction is."

"That's still a tall order, even for me. You know as well as I that the vampires are completely isolated from the rest of the world. Why are you even interested in them in the first place?"

"Because I believe that Gasper's childhood friend possesses a powerful Sacred Gear."

"Gasper?" Seekvaira frowned. "Rias' servant."

"The very same."

He didn't mind if Seekvaira knew that Valerie possessed a Sacred Gear so long as she didn't figure out that it was a Longinus-tier. He could only hope that when he recruited her that she would be able to keep her Longinus a secret from the others, including Gasper, who he knew he would not be able to keep her away from as Gasper was the key to getting her to join him.

"Even if I do manage to find out how do you plan on retrieving her? I doubt they would just hand her over to you if you asked kindly."

Zeroth grinned. "I have a secret weapon for that."

"Your Queen, I take it?"

"I'll leave the imagination up to you. All you need to know is that I have a plan with dealing with them without starting a war."

And perhaps when he recruited the shadow user to his team they would be able to scout the area before they made their move. It would certainly be something worth looking into.

"So long as you know what you are doing I suppose I have no choice but to help you this time."

"Well you do owe me after all," Zeroth chuckled.

"I didn't think you would actually use that to gain a favor over me."

"Well consider the debt paid when you gather the information. I'll be in Ireland for a bit while you are looking into it."

And knowing Seekvaira she would probably throw herself into the task he had given her until it was completed. So he probably wouldn't have to wait long before she found what he was looking for, giving him a few days to find his second and last Pawn for his peerage.

"Found another candidate for your peerage, have you?"

"Of course. That is one of the reasons why I am in the human world after all." Not like Rias who only came so that she would be seen just as herself and not as the next heiress of the Gremory Clan.

Even Sona had a better reason for coming to the human world, wanting to know what their schools were like to gain a better understanding before opening her own Rating Game school.

They all had their own reasons for wanting to be here though and Zeroth knew that they would be at the center of attention when canon came.

"Well then, I wish you good luck with whatever it is that you are up to. And congratulations for your betrothal," Seekvaira smiled.

"So you heard about that, huh."

"Everyone in the Underworld knows about it. As the next Great King of Bael you should know how important it is for you to marry a pure blood."

"I know. You don't need to remind me what my father tells me everyday."

Zeroth already understood the importance for keeping the line of the Great King pure and would do his duty for his clan. He didn't need others reminding him of what he already knew. Besides, he was more than willing to marry Ravel and add her to his harem instead of Hyoudou's.

"True. Anyways, I'll let you know what the current situation for the Tepes Faction is whenever I can. Until then, try and not to start a war with anybody."

"No promises."

He then ended their call and relaxed back into his chair; eager to begin hunting down the remaining candidates he had in mind for his peerage. He knew that what he was about to do would completely change the original timeline as he knew it but at this point he didn't care.

All he needed to do was prepare for the coming storm that he was about to cause.

* * *

**So I made one final change to Zeroth's peerage and switched the Fallen Angel for someone else. And I'm pretty certain you all can guess who the new pawn is for his peerage. I left the hint in the story and on my profile. **

**And for those of you wondering who the Fallen Angel was going to be, yes, it was Raynare, but it was mainly just a placeholder as I wasn't certain on who the pawn should be until now. And with the unused feature of the Evil Pieces I figured that Zeroth is strong enough to recruit them with just one pawn.**

**Which means that most of his peerage will be recruited before canon starts, with just one piece left. **

**As for the training scene it was mainly just for me, testing my battle scene writing as I'm still not that very good with them and will hopefully have them improved by the time we get to the real fights.**

**I also decided to have Zeroth form his own club instead of just joining either Rias' or Sona's clubs because as a fellow King I realized that he should lead his own group instead of being a subordinate. Some Anime have a Disciplinary Committee so I figured that would suit Zeroth and his peerage.**

**This was also mainly just a bonding chapter for Zeroth and his peerage as I know I haven't been doing that well in that department and hopefully did not disappoint.**


	4. New Comrades

**Here is a new chapter for you all, enjoy.**

* * *

"You're going to Ireland?"

Kuisha was surprised to say the least when Zeroth had decided to inform her of where he was taking his peerage. No doubt she wasn't expecting him to be so forthcoming with where he was going as he usually left without informing her or his guards. But he wanted to mend his relationship with her as he realized that directing his ire on his manager was not the kind of relationship he wanted to have with anyone from his household.

There were enough Baels already who acted like that and Zeroth had no intention of becoming like any of them, including his father.

"That's right. I've got a lead with another potential candidate for my peerage and I intend to recruit them. We'll be back though before the summer so you don't need to worry about us being late."

She didn't need to know of course that they would also be heading to Romania to retrieve another member for his peerage. He could already imagine how Kuisha would react if she learned that he planned on infiltrating vampire territory. With Georg and his Dimension Lost at his side though Zeroth doubted they would have any trouble with retrieving the Holy Grail without drawing any attention to themselves.

"And I take it you don't want me or any of your guards to accompany you there?" Kuisha frowned.

"My peerage will be enough. I have a Queen, two Knights, and a Pawn now. You don't need to worry about me."

He knew Kuisha would bring this matter up and hoped that she would give in and let him go with just his peerage. The guards that were assigned to him weren't nearly as powerful as his servants even if they were High-Class Devils and they would just get in his way in a battle and plans.

Kuisha was certainly powerful in her own right as a High-Class Devil compared to the others from Sairaorg's peerage but he had no intention of involving her with what he was going to do with his peerage. It was for the best that she remain out of the loop for now.

She would know eventually though that they went somewhere else other than Ireland when he returned with two servants instead of one, but Zeroth would deal with it when the time came.

"And you believe they are more than capable of guarding you than any of us?"

Zeroth shook his head. "I know you are more than capable of guarding me since my father chose you for this task but there will be times when I will not need you and this is one of them."

"And this is just recruiting another member for your peerage?"

"Of course." He rolled his eyes.

She had such little faith in him but he supposed that he was also to blame for that since he would always take off without informing her where he was going. That would all soon change though once he acquired the members he was looking for his peerage.

Kuisha sighed, folding her arms underneath her bust. "I suppose this is better than you just leaving without letting us know where you are going. Though I expect you to call in every now and then while you are away."

"That I can do."

So long as it got Kuisha and his guards off his back for a bit then he supposed a call or two wouldn't hurt while he was away. He just hoped they wouldn't make too much of a fuss about it when he returned with more then one new servant in his peerage. Though he couldn't help but wonder how his father would react to the news of him having the Holy Grail in his peerage.

He would find out soon anyways when he returned to the Underworld with his peerage.

"Why are you including me with your plans anyways? You never did it before so why now?" Kuisha asked, narrowing her eyes at him.

"Because I realized that I was beginning to act like my father. And you know better than anyone that I am trying to change the ways of the Great King."

It had been after Kuisha had been made his manager when he had confessed his dreams to her back when he was thinking about making Kuisha his Queen before making a pact with Georg as his magician and trying to recruit him. She was one of the few along with his peerage and mother who knew about his desire to change the Great King faction.

"I know. And that's why you came to the human world to recruit those with potential to grow stronger alongside you," Kuisha muttered.

"I wouldn't have been able to accomplish that had I remained in the Underworld. If it were in the human world though I would have a higher chance of finding those who I am looking for."

Just like his fateful meeting with Regulus and Siegfried, recruiting a Longinus and the Demonic Emperor Sword to his team, Zeroth realized that he needed to be in the human world to gain a peerage that would help him reach the top. Remaining in the Underworld would not have done him any good.

"So when will you be leaving?" Kuisha asked.

"Today. We'll be heading out soon to check out the lead Georg gave me."

And hopefully he would soon gain his second and last pawn for his peerage, leaving him with only two Bishops and two Rooks left to fill. The only one he had his doubts with was Kuroka but maybe he would get lucky and find her on the way to Georg's lead or to Romania.

"Then I wish you well on your trip and hope you return safely."

"Don't worry. We'll be back before you know it. Until then I leave the household under your care."

Kuisha smiled. "Just get going already. I know you are eager to head out. I was probably the last one on your list anyways."

Zeroth chuckled. "Maybe."

He then bid his farewell to Kuisha and headed out, ready to begin the next phase of recruiting his peerage.

* * *

"So this is Ireland, huh."

It was his first time being here in both his past life and new life and he had decided to explore some of the ruins that dotted the island before beginning the search for his second and last pawn. Regulus was with him while he had sent Siegfried, Jeanne, and Georg to different parts of the island to begin the search for the boy who could control shadows while he explored.

Just because he was here to search for a prospective member of his peerage didn't mean that he could not enjoy some sightseeing. After all, he wasn't much of a traveller in his past life and with his new life he could travel to different parts of the world whenever he wanted to. Maybe he should put seeing the entire world on his list after he accomplished his goals. He was a Devil who would live for about 10,000 years after all and needed to plan out his future to prevent himself from getting bored.

Having several harems couldn't hurt either since he remembered Azazel stating that he had over a hundred harems over the millennia.

But first he needed to focus on completing his peerage before he could enjoy the pleasures and wealth that came with being the next Great King of Bael. Not to mention his Rating Game with Rias but he had plenty of time to prepare for that until then.

He stopped walking when he noticed that Regulus was not following him and turned around. "What is it?"

"Nothing. It was probably just my imagination." Regulus replied, resuming his walk with Zeroth.

"By the way, I've been wondering if it is possible for our Balance Breaker to evolve past its current state."

"I thought you didn't want to rely on the Breakdown the Beast form."

"I'm talking about the Abyss Side Balance Breaker."

He had no intention of relying on the Breakdown the Beast form, which released the full power of the Nemean Lion at the cost of the user's life force. Instead he thought about Tobio Ikuse and his Balance Breaker that was able to evolve even further after he had polished it past its limit and wondered if that could perhaps surpass the alternate forms of Juggernaut Drive that Hyoudou and Vali had sought without dealing with the past possessors.

"It is certainly possible but it will take time to awaken that form."

"We have time."

Two years to be exact and if Tobio who was a human could further evolve his Balance Breaker in four years than it would definitely be possible for Zeroth who was a Devil to evolve his in half that time. Hell, even Hyoudou was able to attain new forms for his Boosted Gear in just a year and if that pervert could do that then Zeroth would do it as well.

He then answered a call coming through to him via his communication line. "Did you find him?" He didn't need to know who was calling him since he had given his servants specific instructions to only contact him once they had found where their target was.

"Yeah. He wasn't that hard to find to be honest," Georg replied from the other end.

"Send the location to Siegfried and Jeanne. We'll be there soon."

"Already done."

He then hung up and after receiving the coordinates from Georg, he immediately teleported to the location with Regulus by his side, looking forward to meeting his next servant.

When they arrived, Zeroth realized they were somewhere on the docks of the island and joined Georg, frowning when he saw who they were looking for being bullied. Siegfried and Jeanne soon joined them.

"Is that him?" Siegfried wondered, looking at the boy being kicked on with them all noticing his shadow moving around differently than the others.

"Aren't we going to do something?" Jeanne added, glancing at Zeroth.

"I'll deal with them."

Zeroth made his way over to the boy, who was shielding himself from the bullies as best he could while they beat on him.

"That's enough!" He called out, balling his hands into fists, causing the four thugs who he did not bother to take note of to stop and turn their attention to him.

"Who are you?"

"This is none of your business so just keep on moving."

Not even deeming them worthy of a reply, Zeroth appeared in front of one of the thugs he assumed to be the leader in the blink of an eye, ramming his elbow into his stomach, causing him to cough up blood and collapse to the ground unconscious.

Weak, Zeroth thought, glaring at the other three thugs. These guys weren't even worth using his power of destruction on.

"You bastard!" They cursed, charging at him.

Dodging one of their swings, Zeroth chopped his elbow down on the back of one of their necks, knocking them out before moving onto the other two, grabbing their heads and slamming them into the ground, taking them both out in an instant.

That was hardly even a warm up, Zeroth sighed, standing up and making his way over to the boy he was looking for, who was staring at him with eyes wide full of awe and fear.

"W-Who are you?" He asked, flinching when Zeroth stopped in front of him, towering over him.

"Zeroth Bael, the next Great King of Bael." He introduced with a grin, crouching down to the boy's level. "And you are?"

"C-Connla." The boy replied, causing Zeroth to fully remember who he was from his knowledge of the Light Novels and Anime.

The one who inherited the spirit of the original Connla, the son of the mythological hero Cú Chulainn and the possessor of the Sacred Gear Night Reflection.

"Tell me, if you were given the chance to escape from this life would you take it?" He asked.

"Even if I wanted to I would probably still be treated like a freak wherever I go."

"Not if you joined us."

"Us?" Connla repeated, with a confused look.

He then fell back in surprise when Zeroth snapped his fingers and Georg, Siegfried, Jeanne, and Regulus appeared beside him.

"You aren't the only one in this world who possesses a Sacred Gear," Zeroth told him.

"Sacred Gear?" Connla frowned, looking back at the shadow he could control with his will.

"We all possess one," Jeanne smiled, summoning one of her holy swords.

Siegfried revealed his silver arm on his back before hiding it while Georg showed off some purple mist around his hand.

Zeroth then proceeded to tell Connla all about the Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels, and Sacred Gears, informing him all about the supernatural world. When he reached the topic of peerages, Zeroth pulled out his last pawn piece and showed it to Connla.

"These are Evil Pieces, tools used by Devils to reincarnate other species into their race. And you have the opportunity to become one of us, my friend."

"And I won't be treated like a freak if I join you?"

"There will be those who will still treat like you one and some will even see you as their enemy, but if you join us you will have a place you can call home and will have comrades by your side when you need them."

He remembered that Connla had joined Cao Cao and the Hero Faction to escape the horrible life he was living before because of his Sacred Gear and hoped it would be the same for his case. He would be gaining a Sacred Gear user and a loyal servant, with Connla's intense loyalty to Cao Cao also being one of the reasons why he wanted to reincarnate him.

Connla would be the perfect Pawn for him just like how Hyoudou was for Rias.

"If it means getting a chance to leave this place then I accept." Connla had a look full of determination when he met his gaze, knowing that he had no family or home to go back to. "My life is yours if you will have me."

Zeroth grinned, and handed the Pawn piece over to Connla, with him reaching his hand out to accept it, watching as it sank down to his chest. Devil wings then appeared from his back and Zeroth sighed in relief that his last Pawn piece was enough to reincarnate Connla into his peerage.

Connla looked back in amazement at the devil wings that had appeared on his back. "T-That's it?"

"Yeah. Welcome to the team," Zeroth held out his hand and Connla grasped it and he helped him up.

"Nice to meet you. I am Jeanne, Zeroth's Knight." Jeanne leaped over to greet him, beginning the introductions right away.

"Siegfried, Knight."

"Georg, Queen."

"Regulus, Pawn."

"N-Nice to meet you," Connla stuttered, not at all used to being welcomed with open arms.

"And as you already know I am Zeroth Bael, their King." He clasped Connla's shoulder and smiled. "From now on we are all in this together."

"I am yours to command, Master."

It would seem that his hopes for Connla's intense loyalty to him were answered and Zeroth grinned, looking forward to overseeing his growth and potential as a Pawn of his peerage.

* * *

"My Sacred Gear controls shadows?" Connla glanced back at the shadow behind him that he was able to manipulate with his will. "Night Reflection."

After reincarnating Connla to his peerage they had decided to take him to the hotel they were currently staying at in Ireland. It was there that Zeroth had informed him about the Sacred Gear he possessed and what it was called. He wouldn't say that he was a fanatic about Sacred Gears like Azazel but he had done his research on them, including Balance Breakers when he had been looking for information on how to upgrade his Balance Breaker form.

"That's right," Zeroth nodded his head, watching Connla mess around with his shadow. "Your shadows have the ability to absorb attacks and redirect them within your Sacred Gear's influence of course. You can also create shadow monsters to attack your enemies, changing its forms and can form barriers and submerge with the shadows."

It was like Canis Lykaon in a way only it wasn't a Longinus tier and didn't appear in the form of a black dog. For one Pawn though Zeroth sure did get an impressive servant and was glad that this time around Connla was not a part of Cao Cao's faction.

"I always thought that it was just my own shadow I could manipulate," Connla muttered.

"That's because you never learned how to control it, but with my help you will able to master your Sacred Gear within no time."

"And we'll help you as well since we already have a grasp over our Sacred Gears," Jeanne added.

"Just be ready for the training our King will put you through," Siegfried grinned.

"It's not pleasant," Georg muttered, remembering the training regime Zeroth had planned for them to go through everyday after their fight with him when they returned.

"I-I see," Connla shuddered, wondering what he had signed up for.

"You guys are exaggerating. They aren't that bad," Zeroth shook his head.

"Yeah right. Not even my training with the Church was this harsh," Jeanne grumbled, pouting at him.

"Guys, you're scaring the new guy," Zeroth sighed.

"I-It's not that bad, right?" Connla asked, hoping that they were just exaggerating.

All of them looked at him with pitiful looks while Zeroth just chuckled. "You'll just need to find out for yourself."

They would all thank him someday for the training though when the Khaos Brigade, Rizevim, and Hades made their move. None of his servants would be weak and would all be at a level where no one in their current generation would be able to touch them.

"You'll survive though so you don't need to worry about losing your life during the process," Siegfried assured Connla.

"You're not helping, Sieg."

"The only one who is probably looking forward to our training is this guy," Georg added.

Zeroth then held up his hand, halting the conversation when he received an incoming call and answered it, not at all surprised to see that it was Seekvaira on the other end. "That didn't take you long."

He left the room, leaving the others to help get Connla settled in, hoping that Seek had some good news for him about the Tepes Faction.

"I see your peerage is getting very lively," Seek observed, noticing that he had a new member for his peerage as he left the room.

"Just recruited him," Zeroth told her, entering his own private room and shutting the door behind him, leaning against it. "Well, what do you have for me?"

"I don't know what you were hoping for but the only thing I was able to find out was that there has been no change with the leadership of the faction."

"I see."

So Marius hadn't made his move yet even after Valerie had most likely awakened her Sacred Gear with Gasper's escape, making things complicated for him. He had hoped that Marius had already disposed of the current king, giving him a chance to take advantage of the chaos to snatch the Holy Grail from them but it would seem that would not be the case.

He would just have to hope that Georg would be able to teleport the castle and the vampires to a different dimension long enough for them to sneak in without them realizing what was going on.

"Don't tell me that you're still thinking about going? It's reckless," Seekvaira frowned.

"So long as I don't get caught then everything will work out in the end."

They would just need to be extra careful about it and maybe add some disguises along the way so they aren't easily recognizable if they are caught. Maybe he should have Georg run some tests before going through with the plan. That way he wouldn't need to worry about it when they arrived.

"Is that Sacred Gear really worth all the conflict you will cause with the vampires if you are caught?" Seekvaira asked, trying to knock some sense into him.

If only she knew how much turmoil the Holy Grail would cause if it remained in the hands of the vampires, but that wasn't the only reason why he was going to retrieve it and Zeroth would just need to alter his plan if he hoped to obtain it.

"You don't need to worry about me. I have a backup plan," he assured her.

"So either way you were still going to infiltrate their territory no matter who was in charge, weren't you?"

"A change in leadership would have made things easier for me, but it's still possible for me to get what I'm looking for."

"You have that much confidence in your Queen, huh. Makes me wonder what they are capable of."

"I won't be revealing my secrets that easily, Seek."

"I know. I just hope you know what you are doing with this crazy plan of yours," Seekvaira sighed, shaking her head.

"Relax. I've got things handled from here."

"Forgive me if that doesn't instill me with confidence," Seekvaira grumbled, glaring at him.

"You worry too much. I'll let you know how things went once it's all done." He then bid his farewell with Seek and ended the call, summoning his Bishop Mutation Piece soon after.

Not exactly going accordingly to plan, but Zeroth would make do with the cards he was dealt with. Georg would be essential to his plan and so he left his room to join the others to inform them of his plan in dealing with the vampires in Romania.

"Good news, I hope," Georg asked when Zeroth entered.

Connla perked up when he saw his new Master, wondering what they were going to be doing next.

"We'll need some disguises and to test your Longinus along the way, but the plan still remains the same. If everything goes according to plan the vampires won't even know we were there."

"Vampires," Connla repeated, with a look of surprise on his face. "I'm not ready for that."

"You'll be hanging back and watching how we work. In the meantime though I want you to get a better grasp of your Sacred Gear along the way."

"Understood."

"What do you want to test with my Longinus?" Georg wondered.

"Teleporting most of the inhabitants to an exact replica of where they are while leaving a few behind without them noticing."

"I'll get started on it right away."

"As for the rest of us we will be getting some disguises."

Better safe than sorry.

* * *

Zeroth sat on a boulder in the mountains of Hungary, watching Georg envelop Siegfried, Jeanne, and Connla in his purple mist before sending them to a different dimension that resembled the area they were in. He had thrown up barriers around the area just in case there were any Devils or other beings nearby as he did not want to draw any unwanted attention onto them before they entered vampire territory.

He was already taking a risky gamble with snatching the Holy Grail and causing trouble with any factions in the area was something he did not want to add to the list.

"Summon them back," Zeroth ordered Georg, observing the purple mist that began to swirl around them until Siegfried, Jeanne, and Connla appeared from the mist. "Well?"

"Maybe might have experienced a second of a lag but if we are attacking during the day when they are asleep then I doubt they will hardly notice," Siegfried replied.

"Could hardly tell that I was in another dimension," Connla added.

"We're good to go!" Jeanne finished.

"Does that satisfy you?" Georg asked, glancing back at him.

"Let's just hope that they are all asleep when we carry out the plan." Zeroth glanced over at Regulus. "Your turn."

"Yes, Master."

Regulus' body began to glow and shift until it took on the form of a great golden battle axe, landing into Zeroth's hand and he twirled it around, testing it out. He wouldn't say that he was an expert when it came to using axes but he would have to rely on it along with his body if things went south as the vampires would be able to easily identify him if he used his power of destruction.

"This will do."

"How come you get a Longinus and I have to use these cheap swords?" Siegfried grumbled, twirling the steel blades Zeroth had got him for this mission.

"Because your Demon Swords will be easily identified along with my power of destruction if I used them. If we're like this and get caught then it will be difficult for them to identify us."

"Just so long as they don't realize we are Devils," Jeanne added.

"You guys have no trust in my ability, do you?" Georg frowned.

"It never hurts to be cautious."

Zeroth knew that he was being paranoid but this wasn't a game and one mistake could cost them and start a war that he knew he would be punished for if it came back to him.

"And you're certain that Jeanne and I will be fine with just using our Sacred Gears?" Connla asked.

"There can be multiple possessors of your Sacred Gear at the same time so you guys will be fine so long as you don't use your Balance Breaker," Zeroth looked at Jeanne when he said it.

"As if I would need to use my dragon on these guys," Jeanne muttered.

"If everyone is set then let's –" Zeroth stopped when he suddenly sensed a spike of demonic energy nearby, surprised that there were Devils in the area.

"That wasn't us, was it?" Connla asked.

"Somebody is fighting."

Zeroth glanced in the direction of where the demonic power was coming from, trying to figure out if there were any Devils who owned territory in this area.

"What should we do?" Georg asked.

"We'll go check it out and if it's nothing too serious then we'll continue on our way."

He would be lying if he wasn't curious about what was happening over there as he could tell that there were multiple Devils from the demonic energies he was sensing.

"Let's go!"

"Yes!"

Dispelling the barrier around them, Zeroth took off in the direction where the battle was taking place with the others trailing behind him, navigating through the woods until they came upon a clearing.

Zeroth stopped, surprised to see all the Devils in the area knocked out, with a lone figure standing in the middle of the field. His eyes widened when he recognized who it was and started to take a step forward when he leaped back on instinct, watching as purple mist appeared in front of him, absorbing black flames that were sent his way.

"There are more of you?" He heard the woman pant out, clearly exhausted from her recent battle.

Georg narrowed his eyes when he recognized who she was. "That is the SS-Class Stray Devil, Kuroka."

"A stray?" Connla repeated, clearly not at all prepared for this situation.

"She's dangerous," Siegfried grinned, drawing out his swords and stepping forward with Jeanne by his side.

"Stand down!" Zeroth ordered, surprising his servants, including Kuroka as he stepped forward, showing no intention of fighting her. "I've been looking for you, Kuroka though I never expected to find you out in the middle of nowhere."

"Who are you?" Kuroka demanded, summoning up another ball of black flames despite her exhaustion.

"My name is Zeroth Bael and I have an offer for you."

Zeroth couldn't believe his luck that he was able to run into Kuroka along the way to retrieving Valerie and inside his mind he was dancing like a madman. The hardest servant he had expected to find for his peerage was standing right in front of him and there was no way he was going to let a chance like this slip away from him.

"Why would I be interested in anything you have to offer?" Kuroka snapped, glaring at him.

"How would you like to see your sister again? Shirone, was it?"

Kuroka's eyes widened when she heard that name and Zeroth smirked. Got you!

"Shirone," he heard her whisper.

"I am cousins with your sister's master and can easily arrange for you to be able to see her again if you join my peerage."

"That's crazy!" Jeanne gasped.

"Now this is interesting," Siegfried sheathed his swords, knowing that if this woman was under his King's radar then she was strong and worthy to be apart of the team.

"She's a criminal," Georg muttered, wondering why his King was interested in someone like her.

"Why?" Kuroka asked, wondering why this Devil was interested in if he knew about her. "You know that I killed my last master."

"And I'm sure you had good reason for that. Hopefully I will not give you any reason to do the same to me if you join me."

Aside from Kuroka, Zeroth was perhaps the only one who knew why she had killed her master and that she was not drunk on her powers like how everyone else believed her to be. And by using the influence of the Great King faction he would be able to easily get her pardoned of her crimes if she joined his peerage.

He didn't care what anyone else thought of her for she was worth recruiting in his eyes.

"How do I know this isn't some trick to get me to lower my guard down?"

"Because I'm serious about my offer." Zeroth pulled out his normal Bishop piece and tossed it to her, grateful that she caught it when it came to her. "You are now under my protection until I can finalize the trade with the Maou Beelzebub."

Kuroka stared at the Evil Piece for a moment before looking back at him. "And I will be able to see my sister again if I join you."

"You have my word."

"You better keep it, nya."

* * *

"I hope you know what you are doing taking someone like her in," Georg eyed Kuroka warily while she kept her distance as Zeroth explained to them his reasoning for recruiting her to his peerage.

Zeroth sighed, knowing that Georg and Jeanne would be the only ones who would disagree with his decision while Siegfried, Regulus, and Connla were on his side.

"This isn't open for debate. I have made my decision and Kuroka will be joining the team as my Bishop."

"Still, are you sure it's wise to trust her when she killed her previous master?" Jeanne asked him.

"I trust her and she has a reason to join us."

He knew how much Kuroka cared for her sister and if she was given the chance to see her again then he had no doubt that she would take it. And as the cousin to her sister's master she would be able to see her more often while living in the same area. And while she would be able to reconcile with her sister he would gain a powerful Bishop in his peerage.

It was a win-win for both of them.

"You guys are worrying for nothing. If Zeroth acknowledges her then she is fine by me," Siegfried interrupted.

"Same here," Connla added.

"So then how is she going to fit in with our plan?" Jeanne wondered, looking over at Kuroka.

"By using her Senjutsu." Zeroth turned his attention toward her. "You can conceal your presence from others, correct?"

She smiled. "Of course."

"Then I will leave the task of extracting Valerie Tepes to you."

"Tepes?" Kuroka's eyes widened in surprise. "You guys are planning on attacking the vampires, nya?"

"Not attacking, infiltrating."

With Kuroka along with Georg by his side things just got a lot easier for him. He knew that Kuroka was a master of Senjutsu and she would be able to sense where Valerie was easily, making it easier for Georg to leave her out of his mist when he teleported the rest to a different dimension of their castle.

"That's why you don't see us with our regular gear," Siegfried added, frowning at the swords on his belt.

"Just try not to get us all caught," Jeanne muttered.

"Why are you even interested in this girl?" Kuroka asked.

"She's a childhood friend of one of my cousin's servants and I plan on taking her under my wing." While obtaining the Holy Grail in the process.

"Let's just hope that she will be worth it," Georg added, pushing up his glasses.

If only you knew, but they would soon all find out that it would all be worth it.

"If anything else it will be an interesting experience dealing with vampires," Siegfried said.

"I hope not," Jeanne muttered.

"What did I get myself into?" Connla asked himself.

"So we're going to Romania then, nya?"

"Of course." Zeroth then looked over at the rest of his team. "You guys all ready to head out?"

"Yes!" They all responded while Zeroth grinned, preparing a teleportation circle for all of them.

Time to steal the Holy Grail from vampires.

* * *

**Thanks for all the support and feedback you guys have been giving for this story so far.  
**

**Hopefully you all liked the way I had Kuroka join Zeroth and his meeting with Connla.**

**I have also made one final change to Zeroth's peerage, I promise, lol, because I realized that I want Zeroth to win against Rias' peerage at full strength so I have removed the Valkyrie Rook from his peerage, which was Rossweisse for anyone wondering. And for the new Rook there is no point in keeping her a secret since she will be introduced soon and it is Ingvild Leviathan, giving Zeroth a full peerage now before the start of canon.**

**Ingvild by the way would have been Ravel's Queen had I not decided to change her to join Zeroth's peerage.**

**And I know that most of you will be wondering about the pairings for this story. So I'm just letting you all know now that Zeroth will be having his own harem, which will have none of the girls from the Occult Research Club and Student Council in it. I already have them all planned out and his harem will only consist of 8 girls. They will all be canon characters, no OC's or crossovers. **

**For future references I will be leaving his harem up on my profile page like before alongside his peerage and will be updating them as they appear.**

**I don't have any pairings yet for Georg, Siegfried, or Connla though and they probably won't get any.**

**There will also be lemons in future chapters but it won't be happening any time soon, maybe some limes though because of Kuroka.**

**Next chapter will be vampires and the Holy Grail.**

**Until then, see you all next time.**


	5. Vampires and the Holy Grail

**Here is the first chapter to start the new month off with, enjoy.**

* * *

Infiltrating vampire territory was easier said than done in planning than carrying out. Luckily Zeroth had Georg and Kuroka with him so they were able to pass through their barriers without being detected and once inside, Zeroth was surprised the area covered by a thick veil of fog. They had arrived at dawn though so the vampires who are the residents of night were asleep now.

He did notice a few, probably guards, patrolling the area, wearing thick clothes in order to prevent their skin from being exposed to the sun. They could use this fog to their advantage though with Georg's Longinus when sending the vampires in the castle to a different dimension.

Nodding to the others they silently made their way through the town, avoiding the guards, with Zeroth surprised to see some modern-type houses in the residential areas.

Eventually they came upon the Tepes Castle and took shelter in one of the houses nearby, quickly making sure the residents inside were still asleep or knocked out.

"We're ready to begin," Georg informed him as he gazed out the window at the castle.

"Not yet."

He knew that once Georg used his mist around the castle they would be on the clock with retrieving Valerie, but there was also the possibility that there would be guards with her as Marius probably already knew about the Holy Grail and would not leave her alone without protection. He wanted to avoid any possible confrontation with the vampires and since they had isolated themselves from the rest of the world he doubted they would let an incident such as this to leak outside their domain.

They could always use a distraction to draw some of the guards away and Zeroth gazed at the battle-axe of Regulus Nemea, wondering if he should let loose some shockwaves in the area. That would just wake up all of the residents though in the area and he didn't want that.

Shaking his head in frustration, Zeroth looked over at Kuroka and made his way over to her. "Have you found her?"

"A Dhamphir, correct? She is in the basement of the castle, with four guards."

"Can you take them out and retrieve her without being seen?"

"You should be worrying about your magician than me, nya."

"And the rest of them?"

"All asleep, nya. You chose the perfect time to infiltrate their castle."

"That's good news," Zeroth sighed in relief, grateful to have a Senjutsu master like Kuroka with them, making it easy for them to tell what is going on inside from afar.

"Is this girl really worth all the trouble of getting? I understand that she is the childhood friend of one of your cousin's servants, but that can't be the only reason you are interested in her, nya."

"Let's just say that I believe that she has a powerful Sacred Gear like Gasper."

One that could cause the apocalypse if left in the hands of the wrong person. Zeroth knew that his actions today would no doubt change the timeline as he knew it but at this point he didn't care for he would be ready for whatever new threat he would face.

This was his story now after all as the next Great King of Bael and King of Lions, not the Oppai Dragon or the Red Dragon Emperor.

"Well, let's just hope that your magician does his part then you can leave the rest to me, nya."

"He'll get it done."

"And you better keep your end of the deal, nya."

"You have my word."

He then made his way over to Siegfried and Jeanne who were testing out their new weapons. It was obvious to him that Siegfried despised the swords he wielded as they were not his Demon Swords but it was just for this mission to avoid having the infiltration traced back to them.

"Never thought that this would be how I would be entering vampire territory," Jeanne muttered, looking out the window at the Tepes Castle that loomed overhead.

"I would have preferred cutting some of them down then all this sneaking around," Siegfried grumbled.

"Hopefully that won't be happening anytime soon."

Zeroth joined them and looked over at Connla, who was not at all used to this kind of atmosphere. He knew that his new servant wasn't ready for this kind of situation but his Sacred Gear would come in handy if they got caught.

"Still don't think that all of this is necessary," Siegfried said, waving his swords around.

"Never hurts to be cautious. We are behind enemy lines after all."

"So, just a simple grab and run, huh," Jeanne said.

"Let's hope."

So long as Marius hadn't made contact with Rizevim and made common cause with Qlippoth then they were good to go. Zeroth would have preferred if the current King of Tepes was disposed of already but there was nothing he could do about it now but make do with the current situation.

He took one last look around at his group before nodding his head. "Georg, do it."

Here goes nothing.

Kuroka then took off as soon as Georg began to release his purple mist and used the fog around them to conceal it. As for Kuroka, Zeroth knew it wouldn't be problem for her to infiltrate the castle by hiding her presence with Senjutsu. Zeroth watched with a smirk as Georg's mist completely covered the castle before vanishing, leaving an empty castle behind in its wake.

"It's done," Georg confirmed.

"Then we will leave the rest to Kuroka."

He just hoped that Kuroka would able to deal with the guards quickly and quietly without alerting anyone outside of the castle.

* * *

After splitting off from the main group, Kuroka made her way inside the Tepes Castle, not at all surprised to see most of its inhabitants no longer around. It would seem that her new King had an interesting servant as his Queen. Then again, most of his servants were an interesting bunch and she could tell they were all strong, except for one of them whom she assumed was a recent addition to the group.

As for their King, Kuroka didn't know what to make of him yet. When they had first met, she was surprised that he was the only one in the group who did not show any signs of hostility towards her while the others did. Then he had completely taken her off guard by offering her a place in his peerage and giving her a chance to see Shirone again, tossing his Bishop piece to her as a sign of trust, which she would not expect from a Devil from the House of Bael.

Now he had put his complete faith once again in her by leaving her to rescue this girl alone without any thoughts of her betraying him and leaving him in the wind. She knew that he was only interested in her because of her power but to have complete faith in her after one meeting was just absurd in her mind.

She was a Stray Devil after all who had killed her former master but it would seem that didn't matter to the next Great King of Bael.

Yet she knew the influence the Great King held over the rest of the Devils in the Underworld from her time with the House of Naberius and if anyone could get her pardoned for her crimes it would be Zeroth Bael. So if it meant rescuing this young girl from a nest of vampires then she would do it if it meant getting a chance to see Shirone again.

If Zeroth was willing to put so much faith in her then she would do the same for him.

Making her way down into the basement of the castle, Kuroka stopped when she heard the voices of the guards standing by the girl's cell.

"Hey, is it just me or are we the only ones in this castle?"

"Don't be ridiculous. Everyone else is just asleep while we're stuck on guard duty because of that damn Marius."

Kuroka smiled, sensing only the four guards and the girl in the area and swiftly casted her Youjutsu, knocking only the guards out with her mist. She then emerged from the shadows, appearing in front of the girl she was sent to retrieve, and was surprised to see no reaction from the girl when she stood in front of her.

Zeroth didn't mention this and she couldn't help but wonder what these vampires were doing to her.

"Who are you?" The girl asked with a voice devoid of emotions.

"My name is Kuroka and I'm here to get you out of here, nya."

"Out?"

She then remembered what Zeroth had told her to tell the girl to convince her to come with her and hoped this would work.

"Away from this place for one and a chance to see your friend, Gasper, again."

"Gasper?" Life finally seemed to return to her eyes, filled with hope, as she looked up at her. "Is he here with you?"

"Not here but at your new home if you decide to come with me, nya." Kuroka offered her hand to Valerie and gave her a warm smile to put her mind at ease.

"I'll be able to see him again?"

"Of course."

Valerie then reached out and grasped her hand. Kuroka then helped her to her feet and taking her into her arms, she left the cell, lifting her hypnosis over the guards before taking her leave.

* * *

"See, nothing to worry about." Georg was pleased with himself after Kuroka returned with Valerie and they were able to escape without being detected.

"Never hurts to be cautious."

Though it was mostly thanks to Kuroka and her Senjutsu that they were able to easily slip in and out of the vampire territory without being caught. He could now understand how easy it was for Vali and his team to move about without being caught by the Three Factions or Khaos Brigade. Senjutsu was truly a useful ability to have and Zeroth couldn't wait to obtain it for himself.

With Senjutsu and Touki added to his arsenal he would be able to become even stronger to the point where the members of his current generation wouldn't be able to touch him.

And now that he had the Holy Grail in his grasp he had the perfect healer for his team.

"How do you think the vampires are going to react when they find out that she is missing?" Georg asked.

"Probably nothing since I doubt they would want an incident like this to leak out to the other factions."

Being isolated from the rest of the world worked in Zeroth's favor and due to their pride he doubted the Tepes Faction would want their rivals the Carmilla Faction to know that they had lost their Longinus possessor right from underneath their noses. So it would make sense that they would not report this incident to the other factions in order to prevent it from leaking to their rivals.

Though there was one problem and that was Marius. He didn't know when Marius made contact with Rizevim and Qlippoth in the original timeline and if he had already made contact with them then they would target him when they realized that he was the one who had taken the Holy Grail. And if that happened then Rizevim would come after him in order to accomplish his dream of awakening Trihexa and invading the other world.

And he knew all about Rizevim and his unique Sacred Gear Canceller ability. Luckily most of the members on his team with Sacred Gears had other abilities they could rely on in battle. He understood why Sirzechs and Vali recruited members without Sacred Gears to combat Rizevim, but he was looking at the bigger picture and realized that they could rely on other abilities besides their Sacred Gears in battle.

They wouldn't be as lethal with their Sacred Gear against Rizevim, but at least they wouldn't be entirely useless when the time came to fight him.

And for Connla he had an ideal weapon in mind for him when they got back from the Underworld. He just hoped that it existed in this universe.

"Well, you weren't lying about her having a powerful Sacred Gear so this wasn't a wasted trip."

Georg and the others except for Zeroth had been shocked when Valerie had revealed to them that she was the Holy Grail, wondering if that was why Zeroth had rescued her though he had downplayed his reasoning by telling her that he believed that she had a powerful Sacred Gear, not a Longinus in her possession.

It took some convincing but in the end she believed him once he told her that he wanted to rescue her when he learned about her plight from Gasper.

"We will cause quite an uproar when we make our debut," Zeroth smirked.

"You aren't worried about how the higher-ups of Heaven and the Underworld will react when they learn about our Longinus?"

"The Great King faction will deal with them when the time comes."

Zeroth knew that Heaven and the Underworld kept a tight surveillance on Longinus possessors and while they would no doubt not be pleased that he kept them hidden from them he didn't care. Luckily the First Bael and those serving the Great King faction agreed with his decision to hide their identities though they didn't agree with his decision to unveil them to the world when he made his debut.

"So now we are going to the Underworld."

"Yeah. Sooner or later I would have to introduce you all to the rest of the Devils in my generation. No point in delaying the inevitable."

"Should be an interesting affair."

"We'll see."

Zeroth then took his leave and made his way into the room where Kuroka and Valerie were staying. Kuroka was napping while Valerie was looking around the hotel room they were staying in. No doubt she was not at all used to this kind of setting since she was probably kept locked up for most of her life.

"How are you doing?"

Valerie spun around to face him as he entered, leaning against the wall.

"Fine. When will I be able to see Gasper?"

"Soon. He won't be where we will be going though so you will have to wait until we return to Japan."

In his current state he doubted Rias would take Gasper with her to the gathering and would probably leave him sealed up in the Occult Research Club building. He knew that he would be helping Rias in a way by reuniting Gasper with Valerie and probably helping him get over his fear in the process but he would still crush them all the same when it was time to face her.

As arrogant as that sounds.

"So what happens now?"

"Now you join my peerage and live a new life without any worries about being used for your Longinus."

There was no point in beating around the bush since Valerie probably understood that he didn't just rescue her from her prison for nothing. Nothing in this world was for free after all.

Valerie frowned. "But you will still have need of me because of the Holy Grail."

"True, but I'm not like your brother who is interested in researching your Longinus and abusing you. Don't forget that I was interested in you before learning that you had the Holy Grail."

"I thought you were interested in power?"

"Not the kind your brother was looking for. The only tools I need for power are my fists, abilities, and peerage."

He would reach the top on his own without artificial means. Not like those guys in the Top Ten of the Rating Games who relied on the King piece. Everyone above him were but stepping stones for him in becoming the strongest.

"So we are all just tools to you then." Valerie folded her arms and glanced over at Kuroka.

"Most Devils would view their servants as tools to use but to me you all are my team. Companions to fight alongside and trust. I'm not like my cousins who are known for their nondiscrimination to their servants but I can assure you that you will never be mistreated while serving me."

"You are not at all like my brother, but I still don't trust you. However you rescued me from him and are giving me a chance to see Gasper again. So it would seem that my life is now in your hands whether I like it or not."

"Then I look forward to having you by my side."

He then noticed Kuroka stir from her position and looked back over at Valerie.

"Mind giving us a moment?"

Valerie looked at Kuroka then nodded her head before exiting the room, leaving the two of them alone.

"How long were you listening?"

"For a while, nya."

Kuroka sat up, stretching her arms while giving him a good view of her cleavage, smiling when she noticed him staring at her. He didn't mind the view at all and enjoyed the show she gave him.

"Not so easily flustered I see, nya."

"I've had experience."

Being reborn in a harem anime was enough of a push for Zeroth to just say fuck it and enjoy the pleasures of the opposite sex even if his mother didn't approve of it. So it would take more than just a flash of naked flesh to get him flustered unlike a certain pervert.

"We'll be going to the Underworld soon so I take it you know what to do when we get there."

Kuroka may be under his protection at the moment but she wasn't officially a member of his peerage until he got the Maou Beelzebub to transfer her to his group. In the meantime he doubted the other Devils would be pleased to see a Stray Devil walking among them in the Underworld and would probably try to take her out.

Kuroka smiled. "You don't need to worry about me being detected by the others." She transformed into her cat form before returning to her human form. "They won't even know I'm there until I'm a member of your peerage, nya."

"Unlike Valerie you will be seeing your sister soon. I doubt she will take too kindly with you unlike Valerie's friend."

Her smile dropped. "I caused Shirone a great deal of trouble when I killed my previous master but now I have a chance to make it up to her and I won't waste it. I know that she will hate me at first but hopefully she will come to forgive me someday."

"So long as you know what to do I'll leave the matter to you."

He knew that he was in a way helping another one of Rias' servants and couldn't help but wonder if Koneko would be using Senjutsu in two years if she managed to reconcile with Kuroka.

It would seem that some of the members he was recruiting to his peerage would be helping out Rias' servants with their own problems, strengthening her peerage but he wasn't worried.

They were just another obstacle he would destroy on his way to becoming the strongest.

"Are you not at all interested in why I killed my previous master, nya?" Kuroka looked at him with interest as he shrugged his shoulders.

"What you did in the past doesn't matter to me. I know you care a lot about your sister and that is enough for me."

Not to mention that he knew all about her past along with Koneko's and so long as he didn't treat her like her previous master did then he had nothing to worry about. She was his now and that was all that mattered to him.

He then on instinct raised his hand and caught the Bishop piece he had given to Kuroka, surprised that she had given it back to him.

"It wouldn't be fair if I didn't show you the same level of trust that you are showing me, nya." Kuroka winked at him.

Zeroth smirked. "Still wasn't necessary. And don't worry about Georg and Jeanne. They'll come around."

He made the Bishop piece in his hand vanish before taking his leave, letting Valerie back in before heading back to his own room. Once he was inside, Zeroth sat down and snapped his fingers, making his two Rook pieces appear in front of him.

They were the only two pieces he had left and soon his peerage would be complete. And once canon came around with his peerage complete they would be at the same level and stronger than the rest of their generation so long as they stuck to his training regime.

And once the Rating Games for the Young Devils began they would completely dominate their matches,showing the Underworld that he was the Strongest Young Devil with the strongest peerage of his generation.

* * *

Marius was beyond furious when he had learned after he had woken up that the Holy Grail was gone. All his research on the Holy Grail were now wasted if he didn't find out who had taken the Grail from him.

He knew that she had outside help for the guards had told them that they were knocked out by something before he had executed them in his anger. He didn't know how they had managed to sneak in without alerting any of them but Marius vowed he would find out how they did it.

Just like with the other half-breed though, Marius knew that his father would not bother to retrieve her to prevent their rivals from learning that they had lost not one but two Sacred Gear possessors. And one of them was one of the damn Longinus that would have made him invincible.

He would make whoever had stolen the Holy Grail from him pay and he knew just the right people to help him with retrieving the Longinus. He had no choice but to ask for help from them.

Making his way into his library, Marius activated his communication circle and after a few minutes the figure of a handsome young man with braided silver hair, wearing a silver robe with accessories projected in front of him.

"Marius, this is unexpected. Do you have more to report on your research with the Holy Grail?"

Marius gritted his teeth, knowing that his benefactors for his Sacred Gear research would be furious as well when they learned what had transpired for he had promised to revive the Evil Dragons for them.

"Someone stole the Holy Grail."

The Devil on the other end did not look pleased and frowned.

"What happened?"

* * *

**Damn, if I keep this pace up I will hopefully be reaching canon by the end of this month. There are probably two are three chapters left until we hit it. Also, sorry for this chapter being kind of short compared to the others but I didn't know what else to add without it getting too wordy.  
**

**I know some of you don't agree with my decision to add so many Longinus and Sacred Gear users to Zeroth's peerage but he is preparing for the battles to come and having them on his side will definitely tip the balance in his favor, which is something he is going for. Not to mention that he is going for an OP team, using his knowledge to his advantage and weaken the strength of his enemies.  
**

**As for dealing with Rizevim, most of his Sacred Gear users have other abilities that they can rely on in battle: Georg and his magic, Siegfried and his Demon Swords, Jeanne and her rapier, Valerie and her vampire abilities, and Ingvild with her demonic powers. And for Zeroth it is his Great King Bael Mode.**

**And I realize how easily it is right now for Zeroth recruiting the members of his peerage but I will try to make it for when we reach canon that it will come back to bite him in the ass later with more enemies to deal with and a more unified Khaos Brigade.**

**Anyways, that's it from me, see you all next time.**


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